


Breakeven

by Sugakane_01



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, M/M, Pining, S3 spoilers and speculation, mentions of magical!Stiles, mentions of mates but not exactly a mate!fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-11
Updated: 2013-02-11
Packaged: 2017-11-28 23:32:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 25,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/680124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sugakane_01/pseuds/Sugakane_01
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Scott starts to feel more than friendship for Stiles more than one heart winds up being broken.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. And Then It Comes To Me, Like An Epiphany

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: My bff had a birthday recently and she requested that I write her a Sterek remix of [this fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/275865/chapters/437177) as a present. For some insane reason I agreed and...well...here you go. 
> 
> I'm still relatively new to writing in this fandom and still developing the characters voices so I'm sorry if the characterizations seem a bit off to anyone.
> 
> * * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: My bff had a birthday recently and she requested that I write her a Sterek remix of  
> [this fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/275865/chapters/437177) as a present. For some insane reason I agreed and...well...here you go.
> 
> I'm still relatively new to writing in this fandom and still developing the characters voices so I'm sorry if the characterizations seem a bit off to anyone.
> 
> *Please note that in this fic Jackson and Lydia are largely absent...I'm not entirely sure how that happened since I adore them but...yeah. Also, Erica is not exactly a member of Allison's fan club and Allison doesn't exactly have any cares to give about Erica either.*
> 
> * * *

Allison is used to being underestimated. She's female and pretty and _nice_ so for some people that automatically translates into them dismissing her. They let their guard down around her. They expect less, patronize more and are always somehow surprised when she doesn't need them to clap the syllables as they explain all the big words and are downright shocked when she proves herself more than capable of simultaneously handling her business and handing them their asses.

So yes, Allison is used to being underestimated.

She's just not used to it from Scott.

She knows that in the past Scott has kept things from her in clumsy, misguided attempts to protect her and keep her safe but they had both agreed those days were a thing of the past. After all the secrets and lies, half-truths and manipulations that she'd been subjected to, Allison would accept nothing less from her remaining relationships than total honesty. There are no secrets kept "for her own good" and there are no truths left untold "to spare her feelings". She is not a china doll and when push comes to shove she might bend but she will not break and she thought that Scott understood that.

She knows that Scott only ever has good intentions but she had so hoped they were past this. She knows that she's not the most objective person when it comes to Derek but still, Scott should have known that he could come to her and vent. He should have known that Allison was more than happy to grant him a listening ear and be his shoulder to lean on, that she was a place where he could give all his secrets away and unburden himself-even if those secrets and that burden involved Derek Hale.

After all, it's not as if she can't see what's going on. Of course she can see it; they can all see it. She knows that Scott and Derek have never been close but ever since Derek and Stiles became a couple the tension between the two werewolves had become unbearable. Wherever Derek was concerned Scott made it his mission to be as contrary and difficult as possible. Scott is passive aggressive and combative. He's openly hostile and treats Derek as if he finds his very existence offensive.

Allison understands. It's not as if it takes Lydia levels of genius to figure it out. Scott and Derek have never been friends; never trusted one another and so for Scott to see Derek with Stiles, someone who Scott holds close to his heart, someone who is precious to him must burn. She knows that for Scott to see Stiles with Derek, to know that someone he looks at as family, as _pack_ is being marked and scented and claimed by another wolf must be especially difficult now that Scott is an Alpha too.

Allison had tried to talk to Scott about it earlier in the day. She'd known that tonight's meeting would be hard on her boyfriend. Normally Peter's presence alone would be enough to put Scott on edge but in addition to his former Alpha (who managed to not only rise from the grave but also rise to the rank of Alpha _again_ \- thanks for that Aiden) Scott would be sitting across from Derek. Scott's declaration that Derek wasn't his Alpha had shaken something loose in the other werewolf and Derek had, from all indications, completely abandoned the ideas pack and brotherhood when it came to Scott. Allison had thought that getting what he said he wanted would make Scott happy; instead he'd only grown more bitter and caustic where Derek was concerned. Scott's becoming an Alpha in his own right (thank you for your lovely parting gift Ethan) had done nothing to ease the tension and building his own pack had put them in direct competition more times than was strictly comfortable. Allison knew that even though tonight's meeting was necessary it would be far from comfortable. They would both be flanked by their packs and Stiles being at Derek's side instead of his would eat at Scott.

Allison knows that Scott hates that Derek and Stiles are together. It's understandable-Stiles is his best friend, Scott only wants good things for him and in Scott's mind Derek is as far from a good thing as one could get. Allison knows that it can't be easy for Scott to have to sit back and watch as Stiles gets closer to Derek, becomes more firmly entrenched in Derek's pack, in Derek's life and Scott can't do or say anything about it. Scott's head had practically exploded when he'd found out that Derek and Stiles had bonded. Allison isn't obtuse; she knows that it hurts Scott to see Stiles making what Scott feels are huge mistakes. She just doesn't understand why he doesn't feel like he can talk to her about it.

That isn't entirely fair or true though. Allison understands why Scott is hesitant to bring up anything Derek related. Hale's and Argent's are Beacon Hills very own very own supernatural version of the Hatfield's and the McCoy's. She knows that when it comes to Derek she's more than a little biased, that between her aunt Kate, her grandfather, and her own actions Derek has more than enough reason to curse her family's very existence. She also knows that she can't look at him without seeing the ghost of her mother or be in Peter's presence without smelling the coppery scent of Kate's blood. Derek and his pack will always be a difficult subject for Allison. The Hale pack will always bring up feelings of pain and loss, horror and regret, anger and remorse but Allison is strong enough to face it. She knows that she went off the rails. She knows that Scott saw her at her lowest point, when she allowed her grief and her pain to turn her into someone she didn't recognize or want to be. Allison knows that Scott is aware that she still feels the echoes of guilt, that it still hurts when Isaac won't be alone with her, Boyd completely shuns her or Erica looks at her as if she doesn't deserve to draw breath. She knows that Scott remembers the months it took for her to build herself back up, bit by bit, piece by piece and she knows he doesn't want to do or say anything to remind her of those dark days but Allison also knows that she doesn't need to be handled. She's stronger, she's better and she can be a source of support for Scott if he'd let her.

She's tried to let Scott know that he could talk to her, that he didn't have to worry that it would reopen old wounds or be too painful for her to discuss Derek with him. She has tried to let him know that she's laid her past with the Hale pack to rest and that she is ready, willing and able to support him in any way she can and that he can lean on her. In the middle of her speech Erica and Isaac had walked by, Isaac giving her a look of genuine sympathy while Erica had grinned maliciously before continuing on. Allison had ignored them and continued on, trying to get Scott to see that he didn't have to bear his burdens alone.

Scott hadn't taken her up on her offer. He'd simply kissed her once, short and sweet, before telling her they had to pick up Emily and Dante for the meeting and he didn't want to be late.

Allison knew that Scott wasn't entirely comfortable with her attending tonight's meeting but he knew better than to ask her to stay away. Beacon Hills was, by rights, Hale territory. Even though he would have been within his rights to do so Derek hadn't tried to banish Scott or force his pack out but after finding out that Scott had given the bite to Dante, Derek had demanded a meeting to negotiate a formal truce.

Allison knew that Derek was being more accommodating than he had to be. Technically turning Betas in another Alpha's territory without that Alpha's consent could be considered a declaration of war and Scott had done it twice. Derek could have killed Scott and both the Code and the Council Laws would have backed him up. Allison suspected that Stiles had intervened on Scott's behalf. The amount of influence that Stiles had over Derek-and to some extent Peter-was shocking. More than once she'd seen Derek's Betas defer to Stiles. More than once she'd seen _Derek_ defer to Stiles. She knew that Scott worried about the power imbalance between the two of them but Allison had her suspicions that if such a thing existed it was tilted in favor of Stiles.

"We should totally be doing this on neutral ground," Dante mumbled as the quartet got out of her car. "We shouldn't have to come here. We should have demanded-"

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to stop you right there," Stiles's voice cut in from behind them. "First off, Beacon Hills is _Hale_ territory. There's no such thing as neutral ground here; everything you see, every place you walk, even the air you breathe belongs to Derek. Every single solitary square inch of Beacon Hills belongs to the Hale pack. Secondly, you aren't in a position to demand squat though it might be super entertaining to see you try. Peter hasn't disemboweled anybody in like, two, three weeks and he's getting twitchy. Thirdly, you're about to be in the presence of the Alpha whose territory you're squatting in-if you're at all attached to the whole living, breathing, _being alive_ thing you got going on here, I'd show him the proper respect."

"Stiles he didn't mean anything by it," Scott says, stepping in so that Dante can't stick his foot any further into his mouth. "Cut him some slack, huh? For me?"

The grin that splits Stiles's face makes Scott smile back. "Dude, I'll cut him all the slack you ask me too. I'm just trying to keep the peace," Stiles says with a shrug. "Blood is a bitch to get out of the hardwood and I'm determined for our first meeting of the Beacon Hills Werewolf Association to go well. I even got a deli tray and everything."

"You got a deli tray?" Scott asks skeptically.

"Four types of cheeses, turkey, ham and roast beef," Stiles confirms proudly. "You guys go on in; I gotta get my bag and stuff out of the jeep."

Allison notices that Scott's smile falters a bit at the announcement so she reaches out and squeezes his hand. He squeezes back and they make their way up the walk and inside the house, with Dante and Emily hot on their heels.

Stepping into the Hale House is a bit jarring for Allison. She knew that Derek had renovated but she hadn't been inside. With Scott and Derek on the outs and Derek's pack keeping her at a not so polite distance she'd hadn't had the opportunity to see inside and it's not as if Derek were going to be inviting her over for afternoon tea.

The floors were a dark, gleaming hardwood broken up by several plush area rugs. The floor to ceiling windows were flanked by mocha colored curtains that perfectly matched the soft, warm, chenille couches and dark paisley recliners. A fireplace was noticeably absent but in its place was a built-in bookcase and entertainment center in a deep rich mahogany color. Several photographs of Derek and his pack were mixed in with family photos and displayed prominently along the walls and two graphically striped ottomans and several throw pillows in dark greens and warms oranges added pops of color and texture to the space.

"Stiles did it," Scott whispers proudly and Allison raises her eyebrows in surprise. "His mom was an interior designer," Scott explains. "His bedroom is kind of a disaster by design but he's really, really good at helping other people create their spaces. He's the one that helped my mom redo our kitchen."

"He's definitely got talent," Allison agrees, glancing at Scott, studying him and trying to figure out what's going on inside his head.

Scott was practically bursting with pride, his smile soft and sweet and tinged with something else that she can't quite place. She doesn't get much of a chance to analyze it because just then Stiles bursts through the door, slightly out of breath, cell phone up to his ear and rolling his eyes to the heavens as he assures his father that Derek will make sure he gets to school on time the next morning, insisting that dinner is in the fridge and that he will know if the elder Stilinski even so much as side eyes the take out menus he has hidden in the back of the pantry. Stiles is setting his overnight bag down in the entryway, mouth going a mile a minute, reminding his father that he has eyes at all the local take out places while simultaneously ordering Isaac to get something from the vegetable tray before he gets scurvy, pulling exaggerated faces at Scott and making come hither motions at Derek.

Allison rolls her eyes in fondness and when she looks at Scott instead of a similar expression she sees him looking at Stiles with nothing less than naked adoration.

She hears a slight giggle and when she looks towards the sound her eyes meet Erica's and the blonde smirks at her before leaning forward, popping a cherry tomato in her mouth and deliberately turning her back on Allison. Allison pushes Erica to the back of her mind and turns back to Scott but the expression is gone, replaced by something else entirely because Derek has pulled Stiles into his arms, taken the phone from him, said hello and goodbye to Sheriff Stilinski and is now brushing a gentle kiss on his lips.

Scott's entire demeanor changes at the display. His mouth draws itself into a tight, unhappy line and Allison could swear she saw the faintest flash of red. His change is so swift and so sudden that even Emily and Dante pick up on it and Allison can feel tension suddenly pouring off the two Betas. Scott growls out a greeting to Derek and follows the older Alpha and Stiles into the living room, throwing himself on the couch next to Stiles with more violence than good manners would dictate.

During the entire meeting Allison makes it her business to pay attention to Scott's reactions, or more to the point, Allison makes it her business to pay attention to the way Scott reacts to Stiles and Derek. She notices that Scott takes advantage of every opportunity to undercut or undermine Derek and skirts the line between being blatantly disrespectful and merely petulant. She also notices that his behavior towards Stiles is the complete opposite. When Derek suggests the two packs have monthly training sessions together Scott's mouth puckers as if the very idea tastes sour in his mouth and his response threatens to derail the entire meeting. Stiles steps in then, calms Derek, gives Scott a bit of a dressing down and then somehow changes on a dime and manages to smooth the younger Alpha's ruffled feathers. Things are tense again when Dante, Peter and Erica get involved, Erica using the occasion to take a cheap shot at Allison, which forces Stiles to step in _again._

After Stiles's intervention Scott is suddenly on board, suggesting that Stiles sleep over that weekend so they can go over the details and make up a schedule. Stiles agrees and for some reason that sets the pair of them off like Roman candles and they are laughing and falling all over each other as if they'd both had one too many. Allison raises her eyebrows and Derek clenches his jaw tightly but no one says anything and after a few moments the duo compose themselves and the meeting continues.

As the details are ironed out Allison lets her mind wander back over how Scott acted. The disparity between the way Scott treats Stiles and the way he treats Derek isn't entirely unexpected and Allison would be more than willing to chalk it up to the fact that Scott just flat-out dislikes Derek except…

It feels like there's more to it.

And the knowing looks Erica keeps sending her way help convince her of that.

So Allison stays quiet, continues to watch and she sees even more. Allison knows that werewolves are tactile; especially with those they consider pack and family. She's gotten used to being nuzzled and cuddled and scented, not just by Scott but by Dante and Emily as well. Sometimes they've felt the need to scent her in public so she knows what it looks like when Scott is trying to being to be subtle about it.

And right now Scott is trying to be subtle about it while scent marking _Stiles_.

Whenever Derek casually touches Stiles-a hand on his knee or nosing along the skin under his ear, Scott finds a reason to lay _his_ hands on Stiles. Scott bumps their shoulders together when he tells a joke or "accidentally" brushes against Stiles as he reaches for a snack. Allison can tell by the amused look on Peter's face, the smug one on Erica's, and the thunderous expression on Derek's that she's not the only one who has noticed.

When the meeting is over and the finer details ironed out, Scott volunteers to help Stiles put everything away and its then that the touching picks up in intensity: Scott's touch lingers just a little too long on his friend's shoulder or a guiding hand low on the small of Stiles's back as they walk into the kitchen. Allison follows, standing in the entrance and takes note of the way Scott leans into Stiles's personal space, breathing deeply before whispering something into Stiles's ear that makes him laugh. Scott's behavior isn't exactly inappropriate-he doesn't touch Stiles anywhere he shouldn't and there's nothing seductive or sexual about the contact but there is something there, something that carries too much weight for it to be merely casual, something that looks like Scott wants it to be more. Scott's behavior isn't exactly crossing any boundaries but it's not entirely innocent either.

It isn't until Scott mentions to Stiles that he got back his SAT scores and received a respectable 1950 that Allison gets the last pieces of the puzzle. Stiles whoops loudly, immediately pulls Scott into an embrace, talking about plans to have marathon study sessions with Danny and Lydia so they can help Scott get his score even higher before retesting, telling Scott how proud he is of him, how proud his mom is going to be. Stiles goes on about how he's going to make a cake and how there will be an obscene amount of sprinkles on that cake and how Scott will eat it all because he deserves it.

Stiles's reaction is so joyous and obvious and _loud_ that Allison almost forgets to pay attention to Scott. When Scott had told her his score he had been a little sheepish. When she had told him she was proud of him he had kissed her, hot and sweet and thanked her for believing in him. But he hadn't looked at her the way he was looking at Stiles, as if her reaction was the only thing that mattered. He hadn't enveloped her in his arms, closed his eyes and smiled as if there were nowhere else he'd rather be. It was as if Scott's entire world view had narrowed and sharpened until all that existed was Stiles and he was overflowing with nothing but affection and adoration for other boy.

The pieces slide into the place then, like the tumblers of a lock and Allison understands. Scott doesn't treat Derek like an enemy; he treats him like a _rival_. Scott responds to Derek as if he's trying to take away something-no _someone-_ that Scott loves, someone who Scott feels belongs to him. Scott treats Stiles as if he is precious and priceless and something that Scott can't lose or be without.

The way Scott treats Stiles is the way he used to treat her. The way Scott seeks out Stiles's attention and affection is the way he used to seek hers. The way Scott _looks_ at Stiles is the way he used to look at her.

If Allison is honest, that's a look she hasn't seen in Scott's eyes in far longer than she cares to admit. Allison looks at Scott, his arms just a little too tightly wrapped around Stiles for it to be a friendly embrace and the expression on his face so full of love, longing and _hunger_ that she has to actually look away and then walk away because she feels like _she's_ somehow the interloper. Scott is her boyfriend and yet it feels as if she's intruding on a moment of intimacy and affection that she has no right to witness.

Allison walks back into the living room and stands by the bookcase. She's idly tracing her fingers along the titles and trying not to cry when Derek suddenly steps up next to her.

"I asked the others to leave us alone. Peter is taking Dante and Emily home; I thought you'd like to have some time alone with Scott so you two can…talk. You may not believe me but I'm sorry that you're hurting," he says quietly. He's so sincere and it's so outside the realm of anything that she considers to be Derek-like behavior that Allison cracks a bit.

"I don't know I missed it. I don't how I didn't see it before but I see it now. How long have you known and how can you just pretend that it's not there?" Allison asks, partly out of genuine curiosity and partly because she's human and she's hurting and misery loves company.

Derek studies her for a moment before exhaling. "Allison," he says softly, gently as if he's trying not to spook her, "I'm in love with Stiles." He says it so simply, as if it _matters_ , as if his loving Stiles or her loving Scott changes _anything_ that Allison can't stop herself from unloading on him.

"You're not the only one," she says bluntly. "Did you not see Scott? The way he kept looking at Stiles? The way Scott kept _touching_ him, trying to scent him? God, Derek the way he treats you. I don't understand why you're putting up with it if you know. I know that you've lost a lot and it probably sucks right now to think of losing even more but you have to realize that you can't hang onto Stiles. Trying to keep things going is only going to make it hurt worse in the end."

Derek exhales harshly and shakes his head. "Allison," he says, his voice firm but kind, as if he knows he's about to be the bearer of bad news, "I'm not letting go of Stiles because he doesn't want me to. Scott's feelings don't dictate _my_ relationship. I'm with _Stiles_ , not Scott. I'm in love with Stiles and Stiles is in love with _me._ "

Allison opens her mouth, preparing to argue the point and then snaps it shut so hard her teeth clack together. She's shaken and hurting and almost angry at the realization that Derek is right. _Scott is in love with Stiles but Stiles is in love with Derek._

Allison goes over the evening again in her head, focusing this time on Stiles's behavior. Whenever Scott was disrespectful or dismissive of Derek, Stiles rose to Derek's defense and chastised Scott. Whenever Scott attempted to exclude Derek from the conversation, Stiles immediately found a way to include him. Whenever Scott attempted to scent Stiles, Stiles would lay his own hands on Derek. Whenever Scott looked at Stiles as if he'd hung the moon, Stiles missed it because he was too busy training his own starry-eyed gaze on Derek.

The truth slams into Allison hard and fast with the all the subtly of a brick to the face. _Scott_ looks at Stiles with hearts in his eyes. _Scott_ tries to mark Stiles as his. _Scott_ is openly hostile with Derek yet Stiles has never treated her with anything less than friendship _. Scott wants Stiles. Scott is in love with Stiles…but Stiles is not in love with Scott._

Stiles is in love, soul deep and bone sure, the forever and always kind of love but it's not with Scott. Stiles is in that kind of love with Derek and has the status of bondmate to prove it.

Derek stays with Stiles not because he can't bear the pain of losing someone else he loves, but because he's in no danger of losing anything. Derek isn't the person that Stiles is settling for or the person he used to love until he didn't anymore. Derek's relationship is real and solid and whole, it isn't an illusion, the center hasn't hollowed out and it hasn't fragmented when he wasn't looking. Derek hasn't lost the person he loves because Stiles isn't the one who fell in love with someone else.

Scott is.

Scott is the one who fell in love with someone else when he supposed to be in love with her. Allison is the one whose entire relationship just turned to dust in the amount of time it took to clear a deli tray. Derek isn't trying to hold on to someone who doesn't want to be held and he isn't in denial. He knows exactly what's going on, he knows exactly where he stands and he knows that he has nothing to fear because the person that Stiles is holding in _his_ heart isn't Scott. It's Derek.

Derek senses that Allison truly understands-or at least understands as much as she can in the moment and briefly squeezes her shoulder. "It may not help but I don't think Scott intended to hurt you. I don't think he fully understands himself what he's feeling and where you fit into it. I'm not going to tell you what to do but if I were you I'd talk to him. What he's feeling for Stiles doesn't necessarily mean he's not feeling anything for you."

Allison can't help it and one lone tear slips down her face before she wipes it away and gives Derek a thin smile of thanks. She knows that Derek is being kind and given their history he has no reason to be but she can't bring herself to be grateful for it. She can't help but feel that it's unfair that after everything they've been through and how hard it was for them to fight their way back to one another she's lost Scott but Derek gets to keep Stiles.

Allison nods at Derek, unable to form words that won't make her look bitter and heartbroken-or worse yet-jealous.

They both turn as Scott and Stiles walk back into the room, Scott laughing and Stiles smiling big and bright and yes, Allison can admit it, beautifully at Scott with brotherly affection. Stiles's eyebrows immediately draw together when he notices the room is empty outside of Derek and Allison and Scott casts a concerned gaze in her direction.

"So um, where'd everybody go?" Stiles asks, pressing himself into Derek's side so tightly that there's no space between them. Derek automatically tilts and adjusts his stance to accommodate the slide of Stiles's body as if he'd done it so many times that the movements were now muscle memory. The two start kissing and Allison stands there and watches Scott watching them and realizes that beneath Scott's jealousy there's a real sadness there. She realizes that she's not the only one watching the person she loves be in love with someone else. Scott is too. She isn't the only person whose heart is taking a beating and even though she's slightly ashamed to admit it, it does help a little to know that she isn't the only one in pain.

But Allison does love Scott and so she can't really take any pleasure in the fact that he's hurting. When the light goes out of Scott's eyes, his face falls just a fraction and his shoulders slump forward just a bit at the sight of Derek and Stiles being _DerekandStiles_ she can't help but reach out and pull Scott to her, wrap him in her arms and try to take his hurt away.

Scott hugs her back-tightly-and even though Allison knows why and she knows he's wishing he were holding someone else, she buries her head in his chest and hangs on because they both need the comfort and regardless of whether or not they have a future, they do have a past and out of respect for who they were, she wants to hold on for just a little while longer. After what feels like hours but really could only have been a few moments, they let go and say their goodbyes.

They don't speak as they make their way down the drive way towards the car. As they slip into Allison's car and she slides the key into the ignition, squares her shoulders, takes a deep breath, and tells him that they need to talk.


	2. Like A Penny With A Hole In It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is Scott's POV.

Scott knows that people think he's stupid, the quintessential "dumb jock" who can't add two plus two and get four. The thing is, Scott may not be the most book smart guy on the block and maybe he misses the obvious sometimes but he's not _dumb_. He may not know (and doesn't care to thank you very much) a Monet from a Manet and yeah, he has no idea what Stiles and Lydia are going on about when they start talking about stuff like The Copenhagen Interpretation but Scott understands people. He knows how to hear what they aren't saying and how to make them feel better when they feel like crap and how to convince them to follow his lead even if they aren't all that sure he knows what he's doing. And, thanks to a lifetime of being friends with Stiles, he knows how to tell when they want him to do something that he's not going to want to do and right now, Allison has _that_ look on her face and Scott is pretty sure that no good is going to come from it.

And when he's right he's right. Halfway through her explanation of how she is an equal partner in their relationship, didn't need to be coddled or protected and is there for him to talk to about anything, Scott figures out Allison is talking about Derek.

Scott isn't exactly surprised that he's being called out; he can admit he's been treating Derek like scum on the bottom of his shoe for months now. He's been so obvious that Erica is starting to make snide comments about it, Isaac's taken him aside a couple of times requesting that he dial it down and Danny has given him more than one judgmental side eye.

Even _Boyd_ is starting to look like he's completely and totally done and if it's getting to Boyd well…then Scott knows things are officially out of hand.

Scott realizes that Allison thinks that he's not talking to her about his issues with Derek because of _her_ issues with Derek and guilt flares up, sharp and bright in his gut but he pushes it down, smiles at her and deflects her by reminding her that they need to pick up Dante and Emily for the meeting with the Hale pack. Scott isn't exactly thrilled that Allison insisted on coming along but he wasn't going to deny her anything and Stiles had assured him Derek was okay with her presence. Plus, it might be good to have her there. He was pretty sure he wouldn't need an anchor (although truth is these days when he does it isn't Allison that he uses) but her presence would hopefully keep him from making an entirely different kind of fool of himself.

They don't even make it up the driveway before Dante says something that has Scott pinching the bridge of his nose and regretting his life choices. He knows that he didn't really have much of a choice when it came to biting Dante-the kid had wandered into the middle of a fight between the Scott and Kali and she had clawed Dante to distract Scott so she could escape. It had been either give him the bite or let him die. Scott couldn't let him die so he'd bitten him, turned him and while for the most part Dante was a good Beta, he tended to be a little too cocky and a little too mouthy at all the wrong times.

Like now when they were in _Derek's_ driveway, about to go into _Derek's_ house, to negotiate a treaty that _Derek didn't have to grant them_. Before Scott could reprimand him, Stiles was there, all business letting Dante know in no uncertain terms that he'd overstepped and making him aware of just how little bargaining power Scott's pack actually had.

Scott shoots Dante a look and then turns to his friend. "Stiles, he didn't mean anything by it. Cut him some slack, huh?" He knows that he doesn't have to say anything more, probably shouldn't say anything more, but he can't resist the impulse. Before he can talk himself out of it he's tacked, "for me?" on to the end of his sentence.

Stiles gifts him with a smile that Scott can't help but return and suddenly he feels about ten pounds lighter. "Dude, I'll cut him all the slack you want me too. I'm just trying to keep the peace," Stiles says and then jokes, "Blood is a bitch to get out of the hardwood and I'm determined for our first meeting of the Beacon Hills Werewolf Association to go well. I even got a deli tray and everything."

Scott's a little skeptical. Stiles has been on a health food kick ever since his dad's last check up had revealed some issues with his heart. The last time he'd gone over to Casa Stilinski to hang the only thing they'd had for snacks were rice cakes and Wheat Thins.

"You got a deli tray?" Scott asks.

Stiles rolls his eyes a little then confirms it for Scott. "Four types of cheeses, turkey, ham, and roast beef. You guys go on in; I gotta get my bag and stuff out of the jeep."

Scott goes from feeling warm and content to feeling as if he's been dunked in freezing cold water. Stiles getting a bag meant that Stiles was spending the night and yeah…that's a place that Scott absolutely does not want to go. There had been a part of him that had hoped that when the Sheriff found out about werewolves and hunters and everything else that went bump in the night running around Beacon Hills he'd put his foot down and force Stiles to keep his distance from Derek. That hadn't happened though and in fact Derek and the Sheriff seemed to have formed some bizarre friendship that centered on their love of Stiles and their mutual dislike of the Dallas Cowboys.

Allison is suddenly squeezing his hand and Scott realizes that something must have shown on his face. He squeezes back, forces a smile and leads his pack up the driveway and into the house.

Allison is looking around a little gobsmacked and Scott remembers that it's her first time inside the house since the renovations. Scott and Derek might have friction between them (understatement) but since Stiles was always at Derek's and Isaac lived there-even though on paper his aunt "officially" had custody, Scott's a pretty frequent visitor. When he sees Allison take in the soft browns and rich creams of the furniture, and photos and artwork framing the walls and the rest of the decor he can tell that she's impressed. He lets her know that Stiles is responsible for the Hale House looking like it could be in the pages of a magazine. Scott thinks that maybe he was a little too boastful when Allison starts looking at him as if she's looking _through_ him, as if she's looking for something and she'll know it when she sees it. Scott thinks he should probably stop smiling but he can't; Scott's never been good at hiding his emotions and when it comes to Stiles well…that's just a lot to try to hide.

Allison doesn't get to tell him if she finds what she's looking for though because Stiles bursts through the door and Scott's attention is pulled away from Allison and refocused on Stiles. Stiles is panting just a bit, dumping his overnight back on to the floor. He's pink cheeked and flushed from exertion and excitement, and doing way too many things at once. Stiles is on his phone, demanding that his father at least try the tofu stir fry he made for dinner, forcing Isaac to abandon cookies in favor of carrots, giving Scott the most exaggerated "how is this my life" face he can muster, all the while beckoning Derek to come closer. Stiles has always been that way; for all his claims of clumsiness and overly dramatic flailing he's always been able to throw several balls into the air at the same time and keep them all from coming crashing down to the ground. In all the years they've known each other Scott has never been able to figure out how Stiles does it but more and more he wishes he could. It's just one more thing in the never-ending list of things that makes Stiles _Stiles._ It's one more thing in the list of things about Stiles that Scott loves.

Scott can feel Allison's eyes on him and he can hear Erica let loose a smug little giggle. He knows that his Betas can feel the shift, that they can sense the pull of his emotions away from Allison and towards Stiles. He knows he should regroup, refocus and recenter but he can't because _Stiles_. It's almost like back when he was first turned except this time Stiles is the Alpha, this time it's Stiles that's calling to him, forcing his more primal instincts to the forefront and everything else to the background.

Or at least that's what's going on until Derek steps up and pulls Stiles into the circle of his arms, covering Stiles with both his body and his scent. Derek doesn't even hesitate; he plucks Stiles's phone out of his hands and exchanges pleasantries with the Sheriff, a genuine smile gracing his features. It's all comfort and familiarity and when Derek hangs up with Aleksander and kisses Stiles it makes Scott want to shove his way in between them and force Derek to back off. The urge is so strong his eyes ring red and the tiniest bit of fang slips loose.

Scott tries to regain his composure and he does but he knows his slip didn't go unnoticed. Erica is practically radiating smugness, Emily and Dante are both growing increasingly uncomfortable and Allison is looking at him as if she's searching for something again. Scott has to get it together and quick. He forces out a terse greeting to Derek and leads his pack into the living room, foregoing any sense of decorum and propriety to claim a seat next to Stiles on the couch.

They're barely ten minutes into the meeting when Scott starts to feel like the Sword of Damocles is hanging over his head. Allison is outright examining him, as if she can see all the secrets he's hiding away beneath his skin. Erica keeps shooting him knowing glances every few minutes, Dante and Emily are practically vibrating in their seats and then there's Derek. Derek, whose territory they were in and who with one word could either force Scott and his pack into war or exile. Derek, who sat on Stiles's other side, hand on top of Stiles's thigh, tracing tiny patterns into the denim or shifting ever so subtly making Stiles lean into him more so that their scents blended together to the point where the smell of leather and bergamot that Derek carries couldn't be separated from the mix of sandalwood and ginger that was Stiles.

Scott does his level best to ignore his irritation at the way their scents mingle, tries not to focus on _how_ their scents became so intertwined but it's hard. He knows that he shouldn't, that he _doesn't have the right_ but he finds himself surreptitiously trying to scent Stiles. He presses them together, thigh against thigh and knee against knee as they sit on the sofa. He bumps shoulders with him when he tells a joke. He "accidentally" brushes their fingers together when they both reach for a snack. It's not enough though and he can still smell Derek all over Stiles-especially since Derek is doing the same thing on Stiles's other side. It makes him irrationally angry that Stiles doesn't smell like himself, that Stiles smells like he's Derek's. Scott is less than cordial to Derek as a result. He knows that if he were any other Alpha, Derek wouldn't have stood for it. He can tell he's getting dangerously close to pushing too far when he gives Derek a particularly surly reply to a question and _Peter_ snarls at him.

Scott's goal becomes to get out of the meeting with both his pack and his throat intact so he dials down the open hostility. He still can't help a few of the sarcastic remarks that slip through or stop his knee jerk reaction when Derek suggests their packs train together.

"I don't need _your_ help training _my_ pack," Scott says, interrupting Derek mid-sentence. "I'm their Alpha and I don't have to break their arms or growl them into submission to get them to listen to me." Scott knows that Derek's done turning the other cheek when the other Alpha fixes him with a look of pure venom and begins rising out of his seat.

"Really bro?" Stiles asks, his voice cutting across Scott's protests like a knife as he grips a handful of Derek's shirt and hauls him back down. "That one," he says pointing at Dante, "lost his shit last full moon when Greenberg cut in front of him in the lunch line. He almost let the supernatural cat out of the bag over _tater tots_ , Scott. And let's be real here; any of them," he jerks his head towards Erica, Boyd, Isaac and Peter, "could kick both your Beta's asses without breaking a sweat."

Scott bristles at the words but he knows they're true. He also knows that if Stiles is calling him out he's officially stepped over the invisible line in the sand.

"Okay maybe-"

"There's no maybe to it," Stiles insists and then takes a deep breath and lets the anger bleed out of his tone. "I'm not saying you're a bad Alpha," he says gently. "I'm just saying don't look a gift horse in the mouth. You're new at this whole thing and even with Allison's dad as a resource there's stuff you don't know. Stuff that only Derek or Peter could teach you. Plus, it would strengthen pack alliances. Two allied, united packs would be a deterrent to rogue hunters, rival packs and all the other beasties that go bump in the night. Only good can come from this, man."

Scott knows that as much as he doesn't want to be around Derek or his pack, Stiles is right and he opens his mouth to tell him so when he notices that Derek has his hand on the back of Stiles's neck. Scott sees Derek's fingers contract when he gives Stiles a squeeze and he sees the remaining tension drain out of Stiles's body. The two of them lock eyes and in the span of a few seconds seem to have an entire conversation and when he turns back to him Derek's face is less murderous rage and more mild annoyance.

"Stiles is right," Derek says simply. "Both of our packs are relatively small. We both benefit from an alliance."

"So are you saying you need us?" Dante asks, careful not to put his foot in mouth for a second time that evening.

"No," Peter speaks up. "He's saying we could use you. He's saying that it would be mutually beneficial for us to not be at one another's throats. But make no mistake, we don't need you."

"Or the company you keep," Erica chimes in, glaring daggers at Allison.

"Yeah, I'm gonna need the two of you to take off your crazy pants and go back to that whole strong, _silent,_ werewolf thing you had going on earlier," Stiles says. Erica shrugs, not looking the least bit contrite and Peter is no better.

Stiles shakes his head, he and Derek exchange another look and then Derek does… _something_. Some sort of sub vocal growl that has Peter and Erica actually looking legitimately remorseful and Scott has to admit that as galling as it would be to have to take help from Derek, there are things he needs to learn.

He's Alpha and above all else the good of his pack must come first.

But Alphas have needs too and that's why he grabs hold of the storm cloud's silver lining. "Okay," Scott agrees. "I'm in. We're in. But we need to be organized about this so, Stiles you wanna spend the weekend and we can make up a schedule?"

Scott does not, he absolutely does not, enjoy the way Derek's nostrils flare out and his lips thin when Stiles agrees. If Scott smirks a little bit and his mood lifts it's not because he's getting one over on Derek, it's because he can tell by the way Stiles smiles at him and says yes that he's forgiven.

It's like seeing Stiles smile, at him, _because of him_ , sets something off in Scott and suddenly he's outright laughing, remembering the last time Stiles had slept over and how it had ended with the two of them stark naked in the back of Aleksander's cruiser.

Stiles catches his eye and Scott knows that Stiles knows why Scott is laughing. The floodgates open and the two of them pretty much collapse against each other in a helpless pile of limbs and giggles.

When the agreements have all been reached and the truce between the two packs is no longer informal but official, Scott volunteers to help Stiles clean up. He knows that it should be the duty of one of Derek's Beta's but he wants just a few minutes alone with Stiles. The two friends gather everything up from the table and make their way into the kitchen. Scott can't help himself; he has to touch. He touches Stiles's shoulder to steady him, lets it rest there for a moment and the he places his palm on the small of Stiles' back and guides him into the kitchen. Even through the flannel shirt and ridiculous graphic tee that Stiles is wearing Scott swears that he can feel heat flare at the point of contact and he aches to slip his hand underneath Stiles' layers and explore the smooth expanse of bare skin. He doesn't though; he knows he can't. He can't do that to Allison.

He can't do that to _Stiles_.

Stiles is putting the leftovers in the refrigerator when Scott hip checks him gently. Stiles grins up at him and Scott grins back. "At least this time you can't get me drunk enough to think naked night golf is a good idea," Scott jokes.

"Psshaw," Stiles scoffs. "You get a guy picked up by the police a few times-"

"Ten times, Stiles. Your dad has busted us and made us ride home in the cruiser ten times."

"Have a couple of schemes that don't go entirely according to plan-"

"Nothing ever went entirely according to plan."

"Uh, yes it did. I always plan for us to have an unforgettable time and we always do."

Scott smiles. "Yeah we do," he said softly. He clears his throat. "By the way, guess who got his SAT scores back?"

Stiles shoots straight up, slams the refrigerator door shut and crosses over to Scott. He grabs the other boy by both arms and gives him a playful shake. "Don't keep me in suspense man! What'd we get? Tell me, c'mon release the Kraken!"

"Okay first, I keep telling you that your Zeus impression is awful-"

"Blasphemy."

"And second remember that I still have time to retake it-"

"Noted. Now come on!"

Scott ducks his head a bit and then peeks at Stiles from under his lashes. "I got a 1950," he says shyly.

Stiles lets out war whoop to rival Xena's and suddenly Scott is wrapped in a bone crushing embrace. "Dude, that is so awesome. I am so proud of you man! Did your mom freak? I bet she freaked? This gets cake. Shit this gets cake with _sprinkles._ Like a massive amount of sprinkles. An obscene amount-I'm talking a pornographic amount sprinkles. And it'll be Tres Leches cause that's your favorite and you can have it all to yourself. Okay, you can totally take that score and run with it but if you want to retest I've Lydia and Danny on speed dial and we will have study sessions worthy of an 80's movie montage-"

Scott forces himself to remain calm; there are too many werewolves in the house for him to lose it completely. He hopes his scent isn't betraying him too much but he's pretty sure it's a lost cause because Stiles is wrapped around him, tucked into the dips and curves of his side as if he was made to fit there. Stiles is so proud of Scott and his happiness is so potent that it's given his scent a top note of caramelized sugar. He's so close. Stiles is _so close_ that Scott feels the itch in his gums and his canines _ache_ to break free and _bite._ Scott doesn't want to hurt him-he'd never, ever hurt Stiles. He doesn't want to turn him either. Scott knows that Stiles doesn't want the bite; Stiles doesn't want to be a werewolf and after what Peter did to him Scott would never, _could never_ , force it on anyone.

So no, he doesn't want to turn Stiles.

He just wants to taste him. He just wants to sink his teeth in and let that sweetness burst open across his tongue. Stiles is so close, so temptingly close, but Scott knows he needs to keep his head. He knows that Stiles isn't his to taste. Stiles isn't his to mark. Stiles isn't his to bite so he just tightens his embrace, closes his eyes, breathes in deep and tries to enjoy the moment, stolen as it may be, while it lasts.

After a couple of seconds Scott opens his eyes and looks out into the living room. He's surprised when he realizes he's been so focused on Stiles that he missed almost everyone clearing out of the house. Dante and Emily are gone and that would panic him except he can sense them through the pack bond and he knows they're fine. Not everyone has left though. He can see Derek and Allison talking by the bookcase. The sight of Allison so close to Derek raises his hackles. Part of him wants to eavesdrop but its _Allison_ and all things considered the very least he owes her is respect for her privacy. He can't help but wonder what they are talking about though. He can feel the distress coming from Allison but isn't frantic. She isn't in danger and there's no anger or malice coming through from Derek so Scott intentionally tunes them out and lets them have their conversation.

Scott loves Allison. He does, he knows he does. She's still the most beautiful thing he's ever seen and he still can't believe she ever looked twice at him. Her smile is like pure sunshine and she smells like creamy vanilla and soft jasmine. She's confident without being cocky and one of the strongest people he's ever known. There's nothing about Allison that he doesn't love and the last thing Scott wants to do is hurt her. He loves her. Scott absolutely loves Allison.

He just doesn't love her _like that_ anymore. He hasn't stopped loving Allison it's just that somewhere along the line he stopped being _in love_ with Allison. He doesn't know _how_ it happened and he doesn't know _when_ it happened but at some point Scott's happily ever after started including a lot less of Allison and a lot more of Stiles.

And that would be great if Stiles's happily ever after included Scott.

Scott's sure he's there somewhere. He and Stiles have one of those bonds where anything less than a lifelong friendship just isn't an option so Scott knows that he's a part of Stiles' future no matter what.

He's just not the center piece.

That would be Derek.

Scott's lips thin and he feels the same flash of anger and irritation that he gets when he thinks of Stiles, Derek and the future. Ever since they were little and saw The Mummy Stiles has wanted to be an archeologist. Over the years that childhood ambition had grown into an actual plan. Stiles had researched different schools, looked into different programs and when they were sophomores he'd set his sights on Stanford. He'd explained to Scott that Stanford was a great school with a solid archaeology department. It was far enough away from Beacon Hills to be away but close enough that he'd be able to get home with relative ease when he needed to.

Scott has always known going away for college wasn't something he was interested in. He's never really wanted to stray too far from his mom, from his friends, from his home and that's fortunate because with two relatively new Betas who aren't graduating for another year he can't leave his pack. Around the time Stiles settled on Stanford, Scott decided he'd stay local, commute to Westlake, keep working for Deaton and focus on becoming a vet.

It was a good plan and when Scott got sad about him and Stiles parting ways after graduation he would always remind himself that Stiles would be within driving distance and that Stiles would always come home to his father, to Beacon Hills, to him.

Except now when Stiles left Derek would be going with him. Stanford was, as Stiles had so innocently figured out years ago, close enough to get back to Beacon Hills in a relatively short amount of time in case of an emergency and Derek, unlike Scott, had a second who was more than capable of looking after his pack and his territory in his absence. So Stiles wasn't just leaving home, he was leaving home _with Derek._ Scott would be lying if he said he wasn't more than a little resentful and hadn't been especially nasty to Derek the closer they get to graduation.

Scott's pulled away from his thoughts when Stiles clears his throat. "We better get back out there. It's disturbingly quiet. You don't think they're all sitting on their respective sides of the room glaring at each other do you?"

"It's a possibility," Scott says, reluctantly letting Stiles go. "After you."

Stiles laughs and elbows Scott. "Dude, still? You always made me go first and make sure the coast was clear. You're a bad ass Alpha werewolf and you're still making me go first?"

"It's a tried and true system," Scott quips.

"Scaredy wolf," Stiles grouses as he leads the way out of the kitchen trying to trip Scott and laughing when the Alpha's reflexes fail him causing him to stumble a bit.

As soon as they step into the living room Derek and Allison stop talking and turn to look at them. Scott is immediately hit with the uneasy sensation that whatever Derek and Allison had been discussing had something with him, or with Stiles or with both. He gives Allison a concerned look but she doesn't really acknowledge it and then Stiles is moving, going to Derek and asking where everyone is. Stiles and Derek fit together like puzzle pieces, the seal between their bodies so tight there's no separation and it isn't awkward or unsure. Their movements are fluid and synchronized as if part of some intricate routine they'd both memorized and it spoke of a level of belonging between the two of them that was just a bit more than Scott could bear.

Stiles and Derek are about the same height so Stiles just tilts his head back a bit in a silent invitation and then Derek is kissing him, turning so that he's facing Stiles. Stiles winds his arms around Derek's neck and Derek slides his hands down Stiles's sides, settling at his hips. Derek's grip is all unquestioned possession, like he knows just how hard he can squeeze Stiles before the touch becomes painful or Stiles protests. Derek kisses Stiles with intent and intensity and watching them makes Scott realize that this isn't the first or probably even the hundredth time they've kissed like this. It occurs to Scott they've done more, so much more than kiss. He knew they were having sex; if Stiles hadn't told him he would have been able to guess by the way Derek's scent permeated Stiles's skin. But _this,_ this easy intimacy he's seeing now is more than sex. Scott's not quite sure _what_ it is, thinks maybe it's a result of them being bonded, but he is sure that he and Allison hadn't ever quite had what he's witnessing in front of him. What he's seeing is something he hasn't experienced yet and when he does, if he does, he's sure it won't be with Stiles because Derek is holding onto Stiles as if he knows what he has and he'll never let it go.

Scott's misery must be written all over his face because Allison steps up and wraps her arms around him, pulling him to her and holding on as if she's trying to take his pain away. Scott knows it's selfish but he burrows into her embrace, breathing her in and wishing that it could be enough, that it was still Allison instead of Stiles who owned that special place in his heart. He holds on tightly, for as long as he can because he knows that when he lets her go he has to _let her go._ He doesn't want to but he has to because Allison is amazing and she deserves better. It's not fair of him to keep Allison in his arms if Stiles is the one in his heart.

Scott knows that he won't really lose either of them. He and Allison have broken up and gotten back together enough for him to know that after a little bit of time to lick their wounds their friendship can be salvaged.

And he still has Stiles; he's always had Stiles and he would always have Stiles. Stiles loves Scott…just not the way that he loves Derek.

Or the way that Scott loves Stiles.

Looking at the two of them, Stiles's fingers curled into Derek's shirt and Derek carding his hand through Stiles's hair, murmuring into his ear too low for Scott to hear, Scott's forced to admit that Derek's presence is one that he's going to have to make his peace with, a jagged little pill he has no choice but to swallow because Derek is a part of Stiles's life and it was possible that he always would be.

Eventually the couples break apart and Stiles and Derek see them out. The walk to Allison's car is quiet, both lost in their own thoughts. As soon as Scott climbs into the passenger's seat he hears Allison take a deep, shuddering breath and he knows what's going to happen before she even says a word.

"We need to talk," Allison says softly.

"I know," Scott says, cupping Allison's cheek and pressing his forehead to hers one last time.

"I'm sorry."

"Me too."


	3. Heartbreak Warfare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is Derek's POV and it may come off as being harsh towards Scott. It's not meant to be "Scott bashing" at all, it's just that I don't think that Derek would be Scott's biggest fan in this situation lol.
> 
> It also explains a little bit about the pack's dynamics, Stiles's magical abilities and explains how Derek and Stiles are bonded.
> 
> * * *

Derek knows that people have looked at his life, looked at his choices and drawn their own conclusions about the type of man he is. He's aware that he has a certain reputation around town and has been the subject of many caffeine and sugar laden debates at the local diner. There are those who remember his family, remember his younger self, remember the person he was and the life he had before it was all burned away and argue that he deserves the benefit of the doubt. They argument that if Derek can go through what he's gone through, lose what he's lost and still be standing that he's earned the right to live however he wants to live and if that means rebuilding his family home, living in the woods, and taking up with the Sheriff's son-who happens to be of legal age thank you very much well…the man deserves to have some measure of happiness any way he can get it. Besides, they argue, he's been a hell of a lot better for the Lahey boy than the boy's father ever was, he's working for Mrs. Mahealani at the H&R Block and how bad can the Hale boy possibly be if he has the Sheriff's own personal seal of approval?

Then there are those whose opinion is "that Hale boy ain't quite right" and that Derek ought to be run out-of-town on a rail. They are all too quick to remind anyone who will listen that death seems to stalk Derek everywhere he goes and that before he returned the most trouble there was likely to be in Beacon Hills were kids breaking into the local country club to skinny dip in the pool but since he crossed back over the county line there have been murders and disappearances and their quiet little town is hardly quiet anymore. They are the ones who point out that Stiles may be legal now but he certainly wasn't when he started being spotted around town with Derek and that Derek lived for months in the burned out husk of his family home. They insist his Uncle Peter's miraculous recovery is a whole lot more suspicious than it is miraculous and that there is something wrong with a grown man whose closest ties to the community are seniors in high school and the parents of those kids. Mindy Jamison swears he _growled_ at her when she dropped by to visit on behalf of the homeowners association and may have politely reminded him that he needed to run any renovations by her. The boy is just odd, they argue, and they won't be the least bit surprised to wake up one morning and find out that he's gone on some type of killing spree.

He never did run any of those renovations by Mindy and really, what kind of person just ignores the HOA?

Derek's reputation in supernatural circles is another thing altogether. He's the Alpha of a pack that defies tradition or description. His second is another Alpha, and not just any other Alpha-the very werewolf Derek killed in order for Derek to become an Alpha himself. And it gets better, because this other Alpha is his uncle Peter- somehow resurrected and plucked from the very arms of death herself. His pack is small but vicious-his Betas have taken on Alphas, Hunters and Kanima and not only survived but thrived in the aftermath. His Advisor is a member of The Council-nearly unheard of-and it's been rumored that Deaton is doing more than simply overseeing and guiding, that he has actively interfered- something that is against the very nature of Advisors. And if all of that were not enough, Derek has bound himself to a human. A human that he refuses to turn and carries Ability so powerful that he is being taught to wield it by Alan Deaton himself. The Hale pack of the present is nothing like the Hale pack of the past and no one quite knows what to make of it. Derek is a wildcard, feared and respected in equal measure. His pack is new but his name is old and despite or maybe because of his best efforts his reputation precedes him.

Derek knows what people think of him and why. He also knows that if he were to act as if he were the man most people _believe_ him to be or the Alpha that his pack _knows_ him to be he would have taken Scott down months ago. But there's more to Derek than his reputation. There are parts of him that carry the echoes of his parents' voices and the memory of Laura's teachings. There are the pieces of him that remember family dinners and baseball practice, sneaking out to parties with Laura and Peter teaching him how to drive. And then there are the rough edges that have been made smooth by the bonds of pack and family, time, effort, patience and Stiles. It's because of Stiles that Derek finds himself in his current predicament but it's also because of Stiles that Derek is reacting with patience and understanding and not violence and aggression.

Derek hasn't used anger as anchor in a long time but he still remembers what it felt like to wrap that heat around him and bear its weight. He knows what it is to have frustration and irritation as his constant companions. He can recall the feeling of being trapped in a prison of his own making, assaulted by feelings he couldn't will away and longing for things he could never have. Derek looks at Scott these days and it's almost as if he's staring down a version of younger self. It's because of that and because of Stiles that Derek has consciously, consistently and continually turned the other cheek.

But it hasn't been easy.

Scott isn't just another werewolf; Scott is another _Alpha_ and he's been both intentionally and unintentionally challenging Derek for months now. Turning Betas in his territory without his permission, establishing a pack, refusing to adhere to Council Laws and generally being a pain in Derek's ass are actually Scott's less offensive transgressions. Those are things that Derek can chalk up to circumstance (both of the kids he turned were Bite or Die situations and once he'd bitten them he couldn't leave them to their own devices so he had to establish a pack), ignorance (Scott can't adhere to Council Laws because he doesn't _know_ Council Laws) and the natural order of things (Scott has been a pain in Derek's ass since day one). Those are the things that Derek can accept come part and parcel with having Scott McCall in his territory and in his life.

His history with Scott has always been difficult. The best they've ever managed was peaceful co-existence and short-lived alliances. Derek expects for Scott to be competitive and combative and he expects for him to provoke him and push his buttons. If Derek's entirely honest the hostility isn't a one way street. Scott's continued association with the Argent's sticks in Derek's craw. It's a bone of contention and a point of dissention that places both Alphas firmly on opposite sides. It's a fracture that Derek knows he's played his part in and has long since made his peace with. So it's not Scott's general attitude of dismissal and disrespect that's shoving Derek out of his hard-won happy place, what has Derek rapidly reaching the end of his rope is the underlying reason and primary motivation for Scott acting the way he is.

"Isaac and I overheard the most interesting conversation at school today," Erica says walking in and claiming one of the overstuffed recliners as her seat. Boyd and Isaac follow her into the living room and claim seats of their own.

"I'm sure you think you did," Derek says wearily. He's been down this road before. He's busy praying for patience and bracing himself to hear all about which cheerleader has slept with what jock behind what other cheerleader's back when Erica throws him for a loop.

"Allison was playing the part of the devoted, anime eyed girlfriend and letting her big, strong Alpha boyfriend know that she was there for him," Erica reports gleefully. "Apparently Scott's been holding back on her and she was letting him know that she was strong enough to help him lug around his Dean Winchester sized manpain."

"Erica," Isaac says reproachfully. "You don't have to sound so happy about it."

"Oh yes," Erica says, her eyes flashing amber. "I really, _really_ do."

"That's enough," Derek says, cutting the argument off before it can begin. After what they put her through Derek doesn't have it in him to condemn Erica for her hatred of the Argent's. Derek knows what it's like to suffer through sleepless nights and wake up screaming because of that family. Derek knows what Allison did to Erica, what Chris allowed and participated in. He knows the way they tormented and tortured her; he knows that just because they aren't visible on the skin it doesn't mean the scars aren't there. He knows because he carries his own. The Argent's have earned every bit of Erica's hatred and as long as she doesn't let it swallow her whole Derek's not about to tell her she has to let it go.

Derek can't bring himself to be that much of a hypocrite.

"Just thought you'd like to know," Erica sing songs.

Derek nods and makes a noncommittal noise. He knows he's not fooling Erica-hell he's not even fooling Isaac but none of his Betas press the issue. Erica is right; he does find it interesting. He wonders, and not for the first time, if Allison has any inkling of what exactly is behind the uptick in Scott's hostility towards him. Derek thinks it's more likely than not that Allison has concluded that the current situation between himself and Scott can be chalked up to competing Alphas, conflicts in personality, and a complicated history rife with mistrust. He's also guessing that Allison thinks that she herself is part of the problem. That her issues with Derek and Derek's issues with her muddy the waters and Scott is simply trying to keep from pulling her deeper into the conflict. It's a solid assumption for Allison to make but Derek knows things that Allison doesn't. He knows that the drama of their collective past is only a small piece of a much larger puzzle. He knows that Scott's current issues with him have nothing to do with Argent's or Hale's, hunters or werewolves, personality conflicts or personal vendetta's. He knows that Scott's current problem with Derek's existence can be summed up in one word: _**Stiles.**_

Derek knows that Scott and Stiles have a long history. He's been well versed in what Stiles likes to refer to as "The McCallski Chronicles", starting with how their first day of preschool landed them in the corner together after a knockdown, drag out fight over a red crayon, to the invention of something called Naked Night Golf and right up to the story _behind_ the story of how they ended up in woods looking for the other half of Laura's body and getting dragged into Derek's world.

Derek knows that despite how it may seem on the surface he and Stiles are more alike than they are different, but its things like Stiles's relationship with Scott that brings those differences to the forefront. Derek respects that Stiles sees Scott as his brother. He understands, better than most, that brotherhood is more than blood. He can acknowledge that the two have a bond forged by the fires of childhood. He gets that they were there for one another through the best of times and the worst of times and Scott and Stiles over the years became ScottandStiles. He even understands that Stiles can hardly remember his life before Scott was a part of it and cannot fathom his future without him in it. Derek respects, and Derek _understands_ , all of this.

Where Derek stops understanding and the line between the type of man Derek is and the type of man Stiles has become gets thrown into sharp focus is at how easily Stiles _forgives_ Scott. In the years that Derek's known them Scott has taken Stiles for granted and pushed him aside countless times. He's placed Stiles at the bottom of his priority list and valued the welfare of others more than the man he calls his brother. And every time, without fail and with precious little effort on Scott's part, Stiles has forgiven him. And Derek simply can't understand it.

The carelessness that Scott has shown Stiles in the past is an assault against every instinct Derek has and everything he was raised to believe. Derek is a werewolf and to werewolves whether by blood or by bite family is _everything_. It galls Derek that Scott calls Stiles his brother, says he loves him like family, and yet until recently there was always something else or someone else to take priority. And every single time Scott let him down, put him last, left him behind, Stiles forgave him.

Derek tries to put himself in Stiles's place but no matter how many miles he walks in the other man's Converse he _simply cannot understand_. Unlike Stiles, Derek's capacity for forgiveness is distinctly lacking. Derek hoards forgiveness as if he's King Midas hoarding his gold. It's dispensed sparingly, if at all and only in the most extreme circumstances. He still hasn't forgiven Peter. He's _accepted_ him but he _has never_ and probably _will never_ forgive him. Stiles by contrast, hands out forgiveness as if it were Halloween candy. Even though Derek himself has been the beneficiary of Stiles's generosity he still resents when its bestowed so easily on those who can't recognize it for the gift that it is.

Derek knows that unlike in his relationship with Stiles, it isn't idealistic romanticism that makes Stiles forgive Scott so easily. Stiles has told him his feelings for Scott have always been platonic and Derek knows without even listening for a tell-tale stutter in his heartbeat that Stiles is telling the truth. Stiles would never tell him anything less than the truth-even when Derek doesn't particularly want to hear it. Derek doesn't doubt Stiles or question his motivations; he doesn't need to. It's not Stiles's feelings or motivations that are the problem. Derek isn't Allison. He knows _exactly_ what is going on and he knows that while Stiles may only harbor feelings of the familial variety for Scott, Scott's feelings for Stiles are decidedly more carnal.

Derek isn't oblivious. He knows what he looks like and he knows how people react to it. He's not above using it to his advantage. He's done it before and he'll do it again. Derek is also painfully aware of the fact that Stiles has come into his own, even if Stiles isn't. He's noticed that Danny's default expression when Stiles walks into a room has gone from annoyance to resignation to appreciation in the last couple of years. He's noticed that when they're out together he isn't the only one getting double takes and lingering glances. The contractor that Aleksander hired to build a back deck on the Stilinski home has become so blatant in his ogling that Derek was thisclose to taking Stiles on the kitchen counter the last time he'd come over and the man was there 'working'. Derek knows exactly what it looks like when someone is interested in Stiles and Scott is _very_ interested in Stiles.

Granted it took some time for Derek to realize that Scott _was_ interested in Stiles. He had never even considered that _Scott_ could harbor romantic feelings for Stiles. Besides the fact that Scott has, to the best of Derek's knowledge, always identified as straight and even beyond the fact that Scott and Stiles have always maintained that they are 'brothers from another mother', Scott was never on Derek's radar because Scott plus love has always, for as long as Derek's known him, equaled Allison.

Even though werewolves don't have mythological mates that they are destined to be with at the expense of all others, they can bond themselves to another, joining both halves of their whole in complete and total devotion to that person. Derek has bonded to Stiles but he knows that Scott hasn't bonded himself to Allison. Given the volatile nature of their relationship Derek had simply assumed they were being cautious and it would be just a matter of time before they felt stable and comfortable enough to take the next step. Allison was Scott's anchor and his instincts towards her and his devotion to her all pointed to a bonding taking place in the near future-or so Derek had believed.

Ironically enough it was Scott's instincts towards Allison, or rather his lack thereof, that clued Derek in. It had been Stiles's birthday and in lieu of a party he'd insisted on a movie marathon weekend. Members of both packs as well as other friends from school had been in attendance and sometime during the course of the weekend, talk had turned to post high school plans. Allison had informed them that she'd been granted early admission to Georgetown. As Allison had talked about how much she'd enjoyed her campus visit and how excited she was to live in D.C., Derek noticed that while Scott _looked_ appropriately upset at the idea of her leaving, he didn't _smell_ as if he were anticipating the pain of separation. His scent didn't take on the sour tinge of sadness, his heartbeat didn't quicken and his breathing didn't change. Derek knew that Scott would not be following Allison out-of-state and it made no sense that when faced with the loss of his anchor, that he could remain so thoroughly unaffected. Scott reacted to Allison's college plans with just a bit more sadness than he did to Lydia and Danny announcing they would be attending Caltech, Isaac and Jackson's decisions to accept Lacrosse scholarships to Stanford and Boyd and Erica's deciding to stay local and attend Westlake like Scott.

It wasn't until Stiles joined in the conversation, naming his own choice of Stanford and listing all the things he wanted to do and see once he'd moved that Derek noticed a change in Scott. He had almost missed it because he'd been too busy giving thanks to whatever force in the universe that had chosen to have some measure of mercy on him and allow him the freedom to go with Stiles. They hadn't announced it publicly yet but when Stiles left, Derek _would_ be going with him. He wasn't going to allow Stiles to give up his dream school and being away from his bonded was simply out of the question. Even though he still held some reservations where Peter was concerned, Derek believed that between Deaton keeping an eye on him and Derek making frequent trips home he could trust his second to look after his territory and his Betas in his absence. Peter still wasn't the man that Derek had grown up with but he also wasn't the half mad lunatic that he'd been when he'd first awoken from his coma either. Peter had settled and even though they would never have the easy and open relationship they'd had in the past, Peter wasn't an active threat anymore and that was good enough for Derek.

Derek has pulled himself out of his thoughts long enough to glower at Stiles's plans to "totally wear a rainbow colored thong" to his first pride parade and then he'd glanced over at Scott.

Scott had looked at Stiles with an expression that Derek knew all too well. It was a mixture of awe and appreciation, want and desperation, affection and desire. Derek remembers the shock-the _betrayal_ -he'd felt as he'd watched Scott's gaze sweep over Stiles, pausing to take in the long, lean lines of his body and the smattering of beauty marks decorating his skin. Scott had all but stared into the whiskey warm amber of Stiles' eyes and then _lingered_ over the lush curve of his lips. Derek might have been able to shake off his surprise if it had been simple lust that was rolling off of Scott, but it wasn't. Had it merely been arousal the other werewolves in attendance would have been able to pick up on it. What Derek had seen that day was far deeper. Scott had looked at Stiles the same way Derek looked at Stiles, not just _with love_ but as if Stiles _was love_.

That day had opened up the floodgates and from that point on Derek _noticed_. He noticed every time Scott faked casual contact as a cover for scenting Stiles. He noticed every time Scott hugged Stiles and held him a touch tighter and a bit closer than strictly necessary. Derek noticed Scott gravitating towards Stiles whenever they were together, even when in the presence of his Betas or Allison. He noticed Scott's new found habit of crashing Derek's dates with Stiles, his attempts to take up as much of Stiles's time as possible and his absolute inability stop _touching Derek's bonded._

You bet your ass Derek noticed. And it took everything in him to remain calm, to ignore the instincts clawing beneath his skin urging him to answer Scott's challenge, to remove the threat, to assert his dominance. Derek had learned long ago that instincts were there for a reason and that to deny them was often the first step on the road to ruin. There had always been a small prickling beneath his skin when Kate was around, a split second where everything in him poised for fight or flight and underneath the smell of lilacs and honeysuckle he _almost_ thought he had smelled the spicy hot scent danger. Derek had ignored his instincts with Kate and he'd vowed over the charred and blackened ruins of his family home never to make that mistake again. Everything that Derek was, everything that Derek had learned both before and after the fire, almost every instinct he had demanded that he take action.

Every instinct save one: Derek's instinct to trust and believe in his bonded. His instinct to trust and believe in Stiles trumped all else.

Derek trusts Stiles. He has faith in Stiles. He has _respect_ for Stiles and for what they've built. They have learned the hard way that their relationship only worked if they employ a policy of complete transparency. They didn't keep secrets and they didn't edit themselves to spare the other's feelings. Stiles had told Derek more hard truths than he'd ever cared to know and Derek had returned the favor. Their relationship rested on a foundation of total and absolute honesty.

It was because they didn't keep secrets, because they had the hard conversations, endured the awkward moments and angry silences that Derek took Stiles aside and explained to him that his best friend was in love with him.

While the confession was exactly as awkward and uncomfortable as Derek had anticipated it being, Stiles's reaction had been the exact opposite of anything Derek had been ready for.

_Stiles simply crawled into Derek's lap and nodded. "First, I'm sorry. I know you don't know why I'm apologizing but trust me when I say I owe you one. And secondly, I know. And before you get all upset that I didn't say anything, I was kinda employing the tried and true Stilinski method of conflict resolution to deal with it."_

_Derek snorted. "So you were ignoring the problem until it went away?"_

" _It's proven reasonably effective in clinical trials," Stiles said. "Seven out of ten would recommend."_

" _Stiles-"_

" _I know," Stiles interrupted. "Look Derek, I know this can't be easy for you. I know that no matter how many questions I ask or books I read I'll never feel things the way you do. I know that if the situation was reversed and it was Erica or Isaac wanting you I'd be really tempted to bake them a cake with aconite sprinkles so I can only imagine how hard this is for you."_

" _How long have you known?"_

" _For awhile. I looked up one day and realized Scott's heart eyes weren't aimed at Allison anymore."_

" _And you didn't say anything?"_

" _I didn't know what to say," Stiles sighed. "He's never said a word or stepped one furry foot out of line so I just…figured I'd ride it out and not rock the boat. If he'd ever tried anything I would have told you."_

" _You should have told me anyway."_

" _Okay, maybe but does it really matter that Scott's starring in his own angsty romcom?"_

" _Another Alpha is set upon my bonded," Derek began angrily._

" _Are we gonna have to review the conversation where we established that I am my own person who is, in fact, not your property? Cause I can pull up the PowerPoint," Stiles cut in._

_Derek took a deep breath. "You're not property-"_

" _Damn straight. Four for you Cro-Magnon man, you go Cro-Magnon man."_

" _You're also not funny," Derek huffed._

" _No, Dane Cook is not funny. I'm Katt Williams levels of hilarious."_

" _No you're not," Derek disagreed. "But you are mine," Derek said quietly. "You're my bonded. I know I don't own you but you have to understand that you're mine and that Scott isn't just a rival or even just another wolf, he's another Alpha and it's taking everything in me to not treat him like a threat."_

" _I get that," Stiles said. "And I don't think you'll ever know how much I appreciate you holding back, especially since I know you're only doing it for me but Derek, do Scott's feelings really matter here?"_

" _How can you ask me that?"_

" _I'm serious. I love Scott. He's my brother and he's my best friend and he has seen me through some of my darkest days and I will never not be there for him but he's not the man I'm in love with. That's you, in case you were wondering," Stiles said, kissing Derek softly. "You weren't the only one at that bonding ceremony and I may not be a werewolf but you weren't the only one who joined two halves into a whole that night. You are my other half, Derek. You are everything that I have ever wanted and so many things that I never even knew I needed. And as far as I'm concerned the only feelings that matter in our relationship are yours and mine."_

It had been that simple declaration that had given Derek the security and clarity he needed to let Scott's behavior slide. He and Stiles had agreed to handle Scott's feelings with the care but not to let him have any undue influence in their relationship. Stiles had promised to take a harder line when Scott's treatment of Derek became too disrespectful and Derek had promised to come to Stiles first if anything happened that made confrontation necessary.

It had been a relatively easy agreement to keep until graduation neared and Scott realized that sooner, rather than later, Derek and Stiles would be leaving Beacon Hills. After that, Scott had gone from active dislike to complete acrimony. The insults, the aggression and antagonism, the dirty looks and belittling remarks all increased once Scott realized that while his relationship with Stiles would suffer the pain of separation, Derek's wouldn't.

Derek understands why Scott's acting out. He gets that Scott is probably kicking himself for having had Stiles to himself for years and but not realizing what he had until it was too late. Derek gets that because he can put himself in Scott's place, go back a couple of years to when he'd thought of Stiles as an annoying, overly sarcastic little shit that had too much mouth and too little common sense. Derek can't imagine how empty he'd be, how _angry_ he'd feel if he had never gotten his head out of his ass, missed out on his chance to be with Stiles and then had to watch him fall in love with another werewolf. Derek wonders what it would have been like if he'd had to watch Stiles join another pack and bond to another Alpha.

Derek isn't proud of it but he knows he'd be acting a hell of a lot worse than Scott is now.

And then of course, there's Allison. Allison, who Derek doesn't particularly like but Stiles legitimately cares for. Allison will never have Derek's trust. She will never be a welcome sight and Derek will never forget what she did to Isaac, Boyd and Erica but he's not especially invested in her suffering. Derek is positive that she has no idea that Scott's feelings for her have waned and his feelings for Stiles have become far more than brotherly affection. Derek doesn't like Allison but he knows that she's strong and he knows that if she even suspected that Scott's affections lay elsewhere she would end things with him. Allison is a lot of things but willing to be second best and second choice isn't one of them.

It's with that thought that Derek sees Allison's car pull into his driveway. Peter comes downstairs and joins the others in the living room, shooting his nephew a quizzical look as he walks by.

Derek ignores it.

"If Allison's here I guess that means McCall failed to man up and tell her that he's just not that into her anymore," Erica sneers.

Boyd sighs and shakes his head. "You do realize it's just as likely he told her the truth and they didn't break up or she wants to stay friends?" He points out.

"Ugh, away with your logic and reason funkiller," Erica groans, launching a throw pillow at Boyd.

"Children, do I have to send you to the corner for time out?" Peter asks, plucking the pillow out of Boyd's hand as he goes to retaliate.

"Ooh discipline," Erica smirks. "I've been a bad, bad girl. Gonna spank me?"

"Erica!" Derek says sharply. "That is a disturbing visual that no one wants in their head."

Erica smiles, completely unrepentant and Derek chooses to focus on the conversation that's taking place in driveway now that Stiles has shown up and not the CW drama currently going on in his living room.

"You guys go on in; I gotta get my bag and stuff out of the jeep," Stiles is saying to Scott and his pack. Derek moves away from the front door and goes to join his pack in the living room.

He gives Scott and his pack a few moments to settle. He notices Allison's eyes roaming over every inch of the house and realizes that this is her first time actually being allowed inside since the renovations. He doesn't miss the pride in Scott's voice when he explains that the decorating scheme was all Stiles and he doesn't miss the calculating looks that Allison keeps throwing her boyfriend's way.

"Looks like somebody got clubbed with a clue by four," Erica mumbles.

"You're entirely too young to be so bitter," Peter clucks.

"Now is not the time," Derek says, rising from seat and making his way to the entrance, not to greet Scott and his pack but because Stiles has entered the house. The moment Derek takes Stiles in his arms, covers him with his scent and kisses him hello Scott's expression becomes dour. He barely manages to compose a semi-acceptable hello to Derek before taking Allison's hand and following Derek and Stiles into the living room.

It doesn't escape anyone's notice-least of all Derek's-that Scott chooses to sit right next to Stiles as opposed to across from Derek.

It's going to be one of those nights it seems.

As to be expected Allison's presence creates a palpable tension in the room, though for not the reasons anticipated. She remains quiet, even when Erica tries to deliberately push her buttons and doesn't make any attempts to interfere in the negotiations. Allison keeps her eyes on Scott as if she's waiting for him to do something or say something specific. Her eyes keep tracking from Scott to Stiles and occasionally over to Derek and the worse Scott behaves the sharper her looks become.

And Scott, as he always seems to do these days, lives down to the level of Derek's expectations.

Whenever Derek speaks, Scott makes it a point to be as contrary as possible. He takes every opportunity to talk around Derek or disagree with him. His disrespect raises Peter's ire but Derek refuses to be baited. For all his attitude Scott is careful not to be openly hostile, or at least he is until Derek mentions training their packs together.

Scott snaps that he doesn't need Derek's help to train his pack and throws Derek's past mistakes in his face and that- _that_ is the point at which Derek has had _enough_.

He's rising from his seat, ready to show Scott _exactly_ what happens when an Alpha has his authority challenged front of his pack when suddenly he's being _pulled_ and _tugged_ back _down_ and Derek looks, ready to _rip the arm off_ of _whoever_ is daring to interfere when he sees that it's Stiles.

He swallows his pride and drops into his seat without protest.

Apparently Derek isn't the only one that's decided that Scott's fresh out of get out of jail free cards. Stiles seems to have reached his limit as well.

"Really bro?" Stiles asks his voice hard and unforgiving as he keeps one hand bunched into Derek's shirt. "That one," he says pointing at Dante, "lost his shit last full moon when Greenberg cut in front of him in the lunch line. He almost let the supernatural cat out of the bag over _tater tots_ , Scott. And let's be real here; any of them," he jerks his head towards Erica, Boyd, Isaac and Peter, "could kick both your Beta's asses without breaking a sweat."

Derek knows that Stiles's words have found their mark when his Betas preen under the praise and Scott and his pack flush with shame. As good as if feels-and it does feel good-to have Stiles putting Scott in his place Derek knows Stiles and he knows that if he doesn't get the train back on the tracks Stiles will say something he can't take back about the giant elephant in the room that none of them are anywhere near ready to deal with.

He curls his hand around the back of Stiles's neck and squeezes gently.

Stiles takes a deep breath and lets the anger bleed out of him. "I'm not saying you're a bad Alpha," Stiles says to Scott gently. "I'm just saying don't look a gift horse in the mouth. You're new at this whole thing and even with Allison's dad as a resource there's stuff you don't know. Stuff that only Derek or Peter could teach you. Plus, it would strengthen pack alliances. Two allied, united packs would be a deterrent to rogue hunters, rival packs and all the other beasties that go bump in the night. Only good can come from this, man."

Derek can see Scott's conflicted and taking a moment to think it over. He takes advantage of the distraction to help Stiles settle a little more. He looks Stiles in the eyes and lets him see that everything is okay and he feels the rest of the tension drain from Stiles's body.

Derek figures it's a good time to take back the reins so he focuses his attention back on Scott. "Stiles is right," he says. "Both of our packs are relatively small. We both benefit from an alliance."

One of Scott's Betas chooses that moment to interject himself into the conversation-a clear sign that when it comes to the McCall pack it truly is the blind leading the blind.

"So are you saying you need us?" The boy asks slowly as if he's weighing his words carefully.

He doesn't speak quite carefully enough however because Peter takes offense at the implication.

"No," Peter answers. "He's saying we could _use_ you. He's saying that it would be mutually beneficial for us to not be at one another's throats. But make no mistake, we don't _need_ you."

"Or the company you keep," Erica chimes in, glaring daggers at Allison.

Before Derek can respond Stiles steps in to diffuse the situation. "Yeah, I'm gonna need the two of you to take off your crazy pants and go back to that whole strong, _silent,_ werewolf thing you had going on earlier," Stiles tells the two of them. Erica shrugs nothing in her expression conveying the least bit of remorse and Peter is no better. He smirks at Stiles, and then actually removes a white handkerchief from his pocket and pretends to wave a white flag.

Stiles looks to Derek and Derek immediately vocalizes his displeasure to Erica and Peter. The duo heed his warning and back off, and Derek is sure that things that will improve that point.

He should have known better.

When Scott oh so innocently suggests _Stiles spend the weekend_ to create a training schedule and Stiles _agrees_ and Scott _smirks at him_ Derek finds himself tempted once again to do Scott some manner of damage but then Stiles is laughing and he's so genuinely happy that Derek doesn't want to do anything to ruin it.

After that the meeting goes quickly. Before he knows it, he's officially allied with Scott's pack and Scott and Stiles are in the kitchen talking and laughing as if the tense exchange in the living room never took place.

Derek sees Allison watching the duo and gets the sense that she's finally getting the picture. He quietly instructs Peter to take Emily and Dante home and orders Boyd, Isaac and Erica to find somewhere else to be. Once everyone has left Derek turns his attention back to Allison and he can all but see the moment everything crystallizes for her. Scott's just told Stiles his SAT score and Stiles is going on about cake and sprinkles and being proud of Scott while Scott is looking at Stiles with such naked adoration that if Derek didn't know better he'd think that Stiles were _Scott's_ bonded. Derek sees Allison give a full body jerk, stiffen and then make her way over to the bookcase.

Derek is enough of a man to admit that he absolutely considers fleeing. If having Erica in his pack has taught him anything it's that he is almost woefully unqualified to handle teenage girls and their feelings. It's only the fact that he knows that Stiles would expect him to at least _try_ to comfort Allison that has him moving his feet in her direction and joining her by the bookshelf.

"I asked the others to leave us alone. Peter is taking Dante and Emily home; I thought you'd like to have some time alone with Scott so you two can…talk." He notices her eyes are overly bright and he can smell the salt of her tears and he hurries to add, "You may not believe me but I'm sorry that you're hurting."

And it surprises him how true it is. He takes no joy in Allison's pain and he is sorry that she's hurting. He's sorry that she and Scott, despite their best intentions and efforts, couldn't make it work and he's sorry that there's nothing he can do to spare either one of them the pain they're experiencing.

Allison looks like she can't believe he's not pointing and laughing at her and okay Derek may be a bit unforgiving but he likes to believe he's not a complete asshole, but then she says in a small voice, "I don't know I missed it. I don't how I didn't see it before but I see it now. How long have you known and how can you just pretend that it's not there?"

Derek is in _feelings territory_ and he is officially up the creek with no paddle in sight. He decides that since he's in the deep end he might as well try not to drown and exhales. "Allison," he says softly, gently hoping that he can find the right words, "I'm in love with Stiles."

He knows he's made a mistake when her face hardens and she looks at him with an expression bordering on scorn.

"You're not the only one," she spits. "Did you not see Scott? The way he kept looking at Stiles? The way Scott kept touching him, trying to scent him? God, Derek the way he treats you! I don't understand why you're putting up with it if you know. I know that you've lost a lot and it probably sucks to think of losing even more but you have to realize that you can't hang on to Stiles. Trying to keep things going it's only going to make it hurt worse in the end."

Derek knows that it's misdirected anger but it doesn't stop him from wanting to snap back at her. He counts to ten, and then to twenty before breathing out and shaking his head. "Allison," he says knowing that his next few words will be hard for her to hear, "I'm not letting go of Stiles because he doesn't want me to. Scott's feelings don't dictate _my_ relationship. I'm with _Stiles_ , not Scott. I'm in love with Stiles and Stiles is in love with _me._ "

It may have had all the subtly of a brick to the face but Allison finally seems to put all the pieces together. He hesitates for a moment and then squeezes her shoulder. Derek knows that he's can't comfort her, not really. They aren't close enough for him to give her what she needs so he gives her the only thing he can and hopes it's enough to sustain her in the moment. "It may not help but I don't think Scott intended to hurt you. I don't think he fully understands himself what he's feeling and where you fit into it. I'm not going to tell you what to do but if I were you I'd talk to him. What he's feeling for Stiles doesn't necessarily mean he's not feeling anything for you."

For one horrifying moment he thinks he's completely screwed up when a tear tracks its way down her cheek but it's the only one and then she smiles at him-it's thin and forced but Derek will take it.

They both turn as Stiles and Scott walk back into the room laughing, joking and looking on the surface like the best friends that they are. The empty room immediately sets Stiles on edge and he and Scott cast worried looks at Derek and Allison.

"So um, where'd everybody go?" Stiles asks, plastering himself to Derek's side. Derek immediately adjusts his body to fit against Stiles and explains he sent Emily and Dante home with Peter and that Boyd, Erica and Isaac decided they wanted a little fresh air.

Stiles seems to understand everything that Derek's not saying and know exactly what Derek needs because he tilts his head back and lets Derek claim his mouth. Stiles puts his arms around Derek's neck, holds him close and lets Derek kiss him a little too deeply and hold him a little too tightly to be considered appropriate behavior in front of company.

Most of Derek's senses are flooded with Stiles but it's impossible to miss the waves of misery coming from Scott. Derek is torn between feeling genuine sympathy and cuffing him around the back of the head when he stops kissing Stiles and gets a good look at Scott's face because _Allison is right there_ and she doesn't need to be a werewolf to see that Scott is practically turned inside out with jealousy and longing. Stiles is practically coming out of his skin from the stress and Derek does his best to comfort him, whispering words of encouragement into his ear and dragging his fingers through his hair until he feels him settle.

Finally Scott and Allison are ready to say their goodbye's and once the door closes behind them Stiles tugs Derek over the couch and lies down, pulling Derek down over him. They lie there for a few moments, Derek letting the closeness soothe both of them before he decides to get into what happened with Allison.

"Allison knows," Derek says simply. Stiles has his head buried in the space where Derek's neck meets his shoulder and Derek has one hand curled around Stiles' hip and the carding through Stiles' hair. Derek wishes they could just lie there and forget the rest of the world exists.

Stiles, because he's Stiles, doesn't even ask Derek for clarification. He just snuggles closer to Derek and breathes him in. "I kind of thought that might be the case when I noticed you had your 'somebody got their feelings all over me ' face on."

"Shut up," Derek mumbles.

"No but really I'm proud of you," Stiles says seriously. "And I'm grateful. I know that comforting Allison is probably on your top ten list of things to do never. I know that you have your issues-legitimately so-with her but I care about her and I never wanted her hurt. At least not recently. There was a time when I wasn't exactly feeling the love but I can say the same about Erica and now…they're both like the sisters I never actually wanted and sometimes wish I didn't have but would be completely lost without." Derek can sense Stiles getting upset and it kills him to know that this is a pain that he can't leach away.

"You're not the one that hurt her," Derek reminds him, pressing a kiss into Stiles' temple.

"No but I'm the reason she's hurting," Stiles replies miserably.

"Scott's why she's hurting," Derek says firmly. "And even he didn't do it on purpose."

"I know," Stiles sighs. "I just wish there was some way for all the people I love to make it out of this thing happy."

Derek knows that as much as he wants to, he can't give Stiles that so he gives him what he can. He gently tilts Stiles's head so that he can slot their mouths together. After the way Scott pushed him earlier in the evening he desperately wants to touch and taste, to rip clothing from bodies and slide into Stiles hot and hard and just _take_ , leave Stiles covered in bruises and marks to prove to Scott and everyone else that Stiles was _his_ , but that's what Derek wants, not what Stiles needs and right now what Stiles needs comes first.

For all that he's mouth almighty and tongue everlasting Derek knows that Stiles has the tendency to shut down and be quiet when he's overwhelmed emotionally and everything coming out into the open has Stiles completely spent. As he gathers him close and feels Stiles tighten his arms around Derek and hears Stiles' heart beat in tandem with his own Derek knows that neither one of them has any intention of ever letting the other go and for now, in this moment, the knowledge that they have one another is enough.


	4. And After All, You're My Wonderwall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is final installment and it's Stiles's POV.
> 
> Quick note: Since we don't know where exactly Beacon Hills is supposed to be in California, I kind of winged it with the location and its proximity to Stanford. And I have a weird fascination with the idea of Stiles as an archeologist so that's where that came from. It's also my headcanon that Stiles watches a lot of tv and kind of sees the world in pop culture references.
> 
> * * *

Stiles knows that most people don't take him seriously. The general consensus is that Stiles is just _too much_. He's too impulsive, too sarcastic, and too smart for his own good. He's too curious, too talkative, and too reckless. He's got too much freedom and too much energy and not enough common sense to know what to do with either.

While he personally thinks there's no such thing as being too curious, (advanced language skills and an impressive vocabulary can never be bad things) and growing up without his dad on him like white on rice has made him self-sufficient, Stiles can admit the general consensus is not entirely wrong.

If Stiles is completely honest he'll cop to the fact that a solid six out of ten times looking before he leaps is not a thing that happens. And he totally admits that he's a little sarcastic (and by a little he means that he's the bastard child of Seth Cohen and Xander Harris. Gregory House and Roseanne Conner are his godparents. And Mr. Belvedere is his nanny.) As for being too smart for his own good, Stiles resents the implication. Building those Tesla Coils was totally a good idea.

Shoving that metal rod in between the two of them and pretending it was Harry Potter's wand?

Not so much.

But back to the point, which is that Stiles is aware of people think of him. He knows what they say about him and he knows who they think he is.

What _they_ don't know is that Stiles is everything they think he is and then some.

The thing about Stiles is that most people don't see _Stiles_. Or at least they don't see _all_ of him. They see whatever version of himself he wants them to see. Mrs. McCall gets the Eddie Haskell-ish, semi-latchkey kid who is a bit of rascal but stupidly loyal to her son and overall a good kid. Which, hey technically all true. His dad gets the mostly well-adjusted, mostly law-abiding, mostly honest average teenager who is maybe a little overly invested in Aleksander's diet and a little too apt to be exactly where he's not supposed to be but in general not enough of a problem child to make the Sheriff feel like he's completely failed at parenting. His teachers get the mostly pleasant and occasionally unintentionally disruptive student who is enjoyable enough to have in class and pulls in high enough grades that they don't go home at night, open a box of wine and question their life choices.

Except for Harris but Harris is just a dick in general and Stiles cannot be blamed for that.

But back to Stiles. Stiles is acutely aware that he can't be all things to all people so he's whatever the people he's with at the moment need him to be the most. Those plugged into the supernatural party line get the version of Stiles that's one part Rupert Giles, one part Merlin and one part Velma from Scooby Doo. The pack-well they get a version of Stiles personalized to fit their individual needs. Erica gets the Batman to her Catwoman. Lydia gets the McGhee to her Abby. Boyd gets the Mozzie to his Jones and so on and so forth.

It's probably because Stiles is so good at making sure that people only see the parts of him that he wants them to see that he knows when someone else is doing the same. As the saying goes game recognizes game and Scott-Scott is definitely running game right now.

Stiles has known Scott since they were four and re-enacted the Tyson/Holyfield fight in a dispute over a red crayon. In their defense it was the last red crayon in the bucket and they both had fire engines to color so really it's understandable that they went a little _**THIS IS SPARTA**_.

But ever since _The Red Crayon Incident_ (capitalized and italicized because of reasons) Stiles and Scott have been the best of best friends. They know each others stories and keep each others secrets. Stiles knows why thunderstorms make Scott sad and Scott knows why even though it's his favorite Stiles will never have another red velvet cake for his birthday. Stiles has held Scott while he cried about his dad and Scott has comforted Stiles while he mourned his mom. Over the years they have fought for and with each other, discovered that girls did not in fact have cooties and holy crap hair grows down there, endured groundings, chicken pox, braces and one really memorable bout of food poisoning (pro tip: not all gas station burritos are created equal) and always come out the other side closer than before. Stiles is the Shawn to Scott's Gus, the Pacey to his Dawson and now that they're in the wonderful world of werewolves, the Robin to his Batman (But to be clear, Stiles is no sidekick. He's really more of a Nightwing or Red Robin. Stiles is a Dick Grayson or Tim Drake. He's definitely not a Jason Todd). Stiles and Scott are the most dynamic of dynamic duos and Stiles fully intends for them to stay that way.

But having known Scott for all these years means that Stiles _knows_ Scott. He knows that Scott is almost criminally underestimated, something Stiles himself is guilty of doing on more than one occasion. Scott may not be a member of the National Honor Society like Stiles, Danny and Lydia but it's not because he _can't_ , it's because he doesn't want to. Yeah, Scott may be the guy who seriously asked Stiles if Isaac Newton invented _the Fig Newton_ but after finding out that no, Isaac Newton was not responsible for the fruit and cake deliciousness, Scott's also the guy who wrote a kick ass paper on Newton's Reflectors, complete with a working model telescope as a visual aid. Stiles may tease him but he knows that of the many things Scott is, a potato is _not_ one of them. Scott's not an intellectual but that's mostly because he has no interest in being one. He's more of a practice, rather than theory kind of guy. He can learn enough about The Battle of the Bulge to pull in an A, pay enough attention to Harris to know how to write out a balanced chemical equation or stay awake in Ms. Collier's class long enough give an oral report on Jane Eyre if need be but Scott would rather put his time, effort and energy into the things he deems useful: learning how to rebuild an engine so his mom doesn't have to keep paying for car repairs, teaching Stiles to speak Spanish so that he's not left out of the conversation when Scott's cousins come up to visit, or figuring out the best ways to ask Deaton for raises and days off that leave him with both more coin in his pocket and a job to go back to.

Scott may be a little naïve and sometimes more than a little oblivious but he's always been pretty emotionally intelligent and he uses it to his benefit. Scott knows how to set other people at ease, how to make them relax and feel good. He knows how to talk them into buying whatever he's selling without them feeling like they've been conned or manipulated –a skill Stiles is still working on. Scott knows how to get people to step out of their comfort zones and be the person they want to be rather than the person they think they have to be. Scott's people skills, Stiles thinks, are the reason why no matter how sideways things go Scott emerges relatively unscathed. Until Derek came along, Jackson was the only person Stiles has ever met capable of holding a grudge against Scott. Scott's bread and butter is that he is the epitome of the well-meaning, good-hearted, aw shucks ma'am, all American boy and both Scott and Stiles have taken shameless advantage of that over the years.

Even though he's never said a word about it, Stiles knows that Derek doesn't understand why Stiles doesn't hold Scott's trespasses against him. Stiles gets it, he concedes that from the outside looking in Scott's been a fail!wolf as a friend on more than one occasion and some of those failures resulted in injury to Stiles's person or his feelings. What Stiles knows and has tried to explain to Derek is that the Let Down Alley is a two way street and Scott's just been cashing in over a decade of IOU's and friendship fails on Stiles's part, the biggest of which resulted in them being tossed ass over tea kettle into a Buffy spin off and Scott being forcibly changed into an _entirely different species_.

Derek can't see it, doesn't really want to see it, but Stiles knows that one of the things that makes Scott Scott is his ability to make people _want_ to forgive him. There's something so inherently good about Scott that even when Stiles is angriest with him he can't help but look past his faults. Scott, for all his flaws, is a fundamentally good person. He's also an emotionally honest one. Scott can't hide or hold back his feelings, as proven by sophomore year or what Stiles refers to as 365 Days of Allison. When Scott cares for someone it's completely without boundaries or restraint and it's as obvious as a Vegas marquee. Scott expresses his feelings through deliberate action and unconscious gestures and the same holds true for when he doesn't care for someone; the dislike comes through loud and clear on his face and in his deeds.

Scott's inability to not act on his feelings, Stiles muses, is ultimately how Stiles figured out that his "brother from another mother" had gone from being the Joey to his Chandler and turned into the Mikey to his Brian. And while 99% of the time getting to be Brian Kinney would be a win for Stiles-a personal goal even, this falls into the 1% of the time where it's pretty much the last thing Stiles wants.

Looking back, even with hindsight being 20/20, Stiles isn't sure exactly when Scott decided to go off script but he can pinpoint the moment he realized that Scott was ad libbing. There wasn't anything overly dramatic about it-there wasn't a boom box serenade or cue card confession, it was another McCallski family dinner (which Stiles would like to go on record as categorically denying are his and Scott's version of a parent trap. They are not, no matter what the candlelight and Tom Jones music of last Friday night may indicate, attempting to set up their parents.) and Stiles had asked Scott to pass the him the salt. Scott did, but not before intentionally brushing his fingers over Stiles's. Stiles had rolled his eyes and ready to tease Scott about using him to practice his moves on and then the words had dried up in his mouth when he'd noticed _the look_ on Scott's face. He'd seen that look before, directed at Kelly Spencer in fourth grade, Amber Cartwright in seventh and most recently Allison but he'd never imagined, especially given that Scott's always been the straightest straight guy in Straightsville, that he'd see that look directed at him.

Then again, Stiles thought Derek was the straightest straight guy in Straightsville so maybe Stiles's gaydar isn't exactly a thing that should be relied upon in these type of situations.

As they say what's seen cannot be unseen and once Stiles figured out that Scott might be feeling decidedly less than platonic towards him these days, it was as if the floodgates had opened. Bits and pieces of past interactions joined together to create a kaleidoscope of moments that swirled around, each image sharper, brighter and more damning than the next. He remembered all the excuses Scott made to touch him or be near him. He saw every time Scott literally put himself in between Stiles and Derek, or _coincidentally_ ran into them at the movies or when they were out to eat or invited himself along to play mini-golf or laser tag. He remembered when Scott stopped blowing him off and started making spending time with him a priority: blowing off bro time with Isaac to marathon Battlestar Galactica with Stiles, putting off training with Dante to help Stiles clean out his attic, cancelling on _Allison_ to nurse Stiles through the mother of all sinus infections. Stiles remembered all the hair ruffles where Scott's touch lingered just a fraction too long and all the times when Scott had crowded into Stiles's personal space bubble, nostrils slightly flared and eyes rimmed in the faintest ring of crimson.

It must be noted that even though Stiles has matured greatly and is now capable of confronting a problem head on (being up to your neck in supernatural shenanigans will do that to a guy) he's still a big fan of ignoring the problem until it goes away. Especially if it's a problem of the feelings variety. While there was a part of Stiles that wanted to tap into his inner Izzie Stevens and confront Scott Grey's Anatomy style because _seriously, no seriously_ , the bigger part of Stiles is aware that no good would come from that. Plus, Stiles is intimately acquainted with the pain of unrequited love and he knows, probably better than most, that as awkward as they are and as complicated as they make things, Scott's feelings are real and they are valid and they have value and even if they aren't returned they deserve to be respected. Even if he doesn't feel the same way the last thing Stiles wanted to do was shame or humiliate someone who means the world to him, someone he loved.

Because the truth is that Stiles absolutely does love Scott. He loves his bitch face when he's a thousand percent done with whatever manner of oh hell no they've gotten into. He loves his goofy grin and his puppy eyes and his insistence in seeing the good in everyone. Stiles loves how strong Scott can be when he needs to be and how he gives every bit of who he is to friends and his family and doesn't even think to ask for anything in return. He loves how Scott can't really hold a grudge unless it's for someone else's sake and how kind-hearted and generous he is. He loves how Scott always tries to do the right thing even when the right thing works against his own best interest and he loves how no matter how much ugly and evil they see, Scott never lets it jade him. He loves Scott…he's just not _in love_ with Scott.

Stiles knows what it's like to be walking this particular mile in Scott's shoes. He knows exactly how it feels to give your heart to someone only to watch them give theirs to someone else. He remembers every soul crushing second of pining after Lydia and the gut wrenching pain of watching her choose Jackson, over and over again, no matter how many ways Stiles tried to make himself an option. It's because he remembers every time that Lydia walked by without so much as even acknowledging he existed or used his feelings to suit her own agenda or the months he spent waiting on Derek to stop being the king of mixed signals that Stiles handles Scott with the kind of gentleness he wishes he's been gifted with in those situations.

Knowing about Scott's feelings puts Stiles in a delicate situation. He's careful not to pull away from Scott or let things get weird between them, but at the same time not to do anything that could be seen as encouragement. Stiles figures that when Scott is ready to talk about the rainbow colored elephant in the room, he'll come to him and that is not a conversation that Stiles is looking forward to. Stiles is in uncharted waters here. He's always been the guy getting his heart broken; he's never actually had to be the guy doing the breaking and the idea of breaking Scott's heart…not exactly what he sees as a superfun time.

Stiles is a man who can give credit where credit is due and he was all set to give Scott the slow clap of appreciation for handling the pain of unrequited love far better than Stiles did, especially considering that the animosity between Scott and Derek makes the rivalry between Stiles and Jackson pale in comparison when Scott suddenly decided the manner in which he and Derek had previously dealt with one another (sassy eye rolls and reluctant tolerance of the others' existence) needed to change and by change Stiles means that Scott pretty much decided to upgrade Derek from sort of frenemy to outright enemy almost overnight.

Stiles understands-he may or may not have spent many a night brainstorming ways to rid Jackson of both Lydia and his popularity-but the switch from dislike to all out loathing is done so quickly that it leaves Stiles reeling. One minute Scott and Derek are exchanging civil if icy greetings whenever they see each other and the next Scott is going after Derek as if it's his life's mission to see Derek miserable.

Derek's come a long way from the days where throwing someone against a wall was his idea of opening the lines of communication but Rome wasn't built a day and Stiles knows that all the meditation in the world won't make Derek Zen enough to put up with Scott's disrespect indefinitely so he runs interference as best he can. He puts himself between the two Alphas, confident that neither would ever hurt him, and becomes a buffer between Scott's barely restrained aggression and Derek's ruthlessly repressed anger. Stiles knows that Derek isn't stupid and he has to suspect something is going on but Stiles is pretty sure Derek doesn't know what that something is and he can't seem to find the words to clue him in. Besides, he really isn't sure if Derek being in the know would make matters better or worse.

And it's not as if Scott makes things easy on him. Scott's so openly hostile that even _Danny_ is sending Scott looks of disapproval. Stiles is 75% sure that the pack has not only noticed but figured out _why_ Scott treats Derek like they're having some sort of weird, mostly one-sided celebrity feud and Erica's almost gleeful about it- a thing which Stiles does not approve of but understands given the nature of her relationship with Allison- and even though Derek insists that he's fine and can handle it Stiles knows that he's not, that he can't be. Being relentlessly attacked, with Derek's history and personality can't be an easy thing to deal with. Stiles knows the only reason Derek hasn't retaliated- _yet_ -is for his sake. So for the sake of Derek's sanity and Scott's wolvihood, Stiles redefines the boundaries of his and Scott's bromance, reprioritizes his relationships and makes sure that it's evident to _everyone_ that Derek comes first. Scott seems to get it and he reins it in but it feels more like the calm before the storm than a solid solution.

Stiles knows that the obvious solution is to talk to Derek. The truth seems like the clear choice but it also seems like the best way to ensure that there will be some slow singing and flower bringing in Beacon Hills.

As in Derek will kill Scott.

To _death._

And no, that's not Stiles being overly dramatic. That's Stiles knowing his bonded and knowing his best friend and knowing that neither of them would back off from the inevitable confrontation and Stiles is not going to lose either of them to their stupid Alpha male dominant werewolf _bullshit_ so Stiles thinks that the truth can suck his balls.

Stiles is stuck. He's stuck and one wrong move is going to bring the entire house of cards down on everyone. His instincts are all haywire and he's working at cross purposes. He wants to keep Allison from getting her heartbroken but he doesn't want to keep lying to her. He wants to sit down with Scott and hug it out but he has no idea where they'd even start or if Scott's ready to even acknowledge that his sexuality might not be as cut and dried as he thought it was He wants to curl into Derek and tell him everything but he wants to protect him from feeling insecure, territorial or going to the ragey place.

Derek has tried too hard, confronted too many demons and come too far to backslide now.

But then things calm down and Stiles starts to breathe. Scott seems to reach a place of acceptance and Derek doesn't look like he's trying to kill Scott with his mind whenever they are forced into the same room together so Stiles stops worrying so much.

Stiles feels so confident in Scott and Derek's ability to be in the same room without bloodshed that he doesn't even worry-much-about having them under the same roof for his birthday weekend movie marathon.

Stiles absolutely should have worried.

Both Alphas seem to be making an effort not to ruin Stiles's party, content to ignore each other save the occasional glare. There's popcorn and pizza and Jackson's dialed the douche nozzle down to about a three and Stiles is feeling pretty good about things. So of course he lets his guard down and disaster strikes. They're all talking about graduation and who's going where and Stiles doesn't think twice about sharing his post high school plans or shushing Erica when she announces that Stiles won't be living in the dorms because Derek is going with him.

Stiles realizes five seconds after every werewolf in the room tenses and whips around to look at Scott that he's just committed a pretty serious friendship faux pas. Scott finding out in front of pretty much everyone they know that when Stiles gets ready to ease on down the road Derek is going to be right beside him is pretty much the opposite of doing damage control.

Predictably, after that weekend Scott ramps up the hostility. He's combative and confrontational, almost like he's in some sort of permanent roid rage around Derek. He's always spoiling for a fight and trying to provoke Derek into giving him one. It gets to a point where Scott's treatment of Derek is so barbed that Boyd-who never gets involved in any of their personal dramas- takes Stiles aside and tells him to do something.

Boyd is involved now. _Boyd_. They have officially passed the point of no return.

It's all so much, almost too much, and as much as he aches for someone to share his burden with it, it seems in a particularly cruel twist of fate that everyone he _would_ seek out for comfort are the very people he _can't_ go to.

It's almost a relief when the decision is taken out of his hands because Derek? Not just a pretty face. He comes to Stiles a couple of weeks after his birthday, tense but not murderous, and lays it all out there. He explains his suspicions and gives supporting examples of Scott's increasingly possessive behavior towards Stiles and antagonistic treatment of Derek. He's angry and he's jealous but Mt. St. Hale isn't erupting and Stiles is instantly more than a little ashamed of selling Derek so short. Stiles knows he should have had a little more faith in Derek, paid a little more attention to the man he's become and given a little less consideration to the man he used to be.

Stiles does what he's been wanting to do for awhile and he crawls into Derek's lap, pulling Derek's arms around him and lets the truth spill out. He starts with an apology and things go from there. Derek reminds Stiles all over again why he fell so deep in love with him that he bound himself to Derek for the rest of his life when he ultimately trusts Stiles' judgment on how to handle the situation. Stiles knows what it costs Derek not to force the subject, not to issue an ultimatum or try to take charge. Stiles knows what it means that Derek trusts in him, that Derek trusts _in them_ , and it just makes him all the more determined to be never betray that trust. It just makes Stiles love him all the more.

They decide to handle Scott's feelings with the care but not to let him have any undue influence in their relationship. Stiles promises to not to let a single incident go unchecked and Derek promises to come to Stiles first if anything happens that makes confrontation necessary.

After that things aren't exactly easy but they aren't impossible. It helps, not having to keep anything from Derek, having him to lean on and confide in. Things settle a bit and Stiles starts to breathe a little easier, gets a little more comfortable in having Scott and Derek in close proximity and generally starts to think that they've turned a corner and the worst is over.

Stiles should have known better.

Because once the end of the year is upon them Scott becomes even more unbearable than he's ever been and if that isn't enough, right around the same time, Allison comes up to him and asks if he knows what's going on with Scott. Stiles manages to fake his way through the conversation but the entire time he's thinking that if Allison has noticed, then the train is totally and completely, one hundred percent off the tracks.

Allison…Allison is a part of the equation that Stiles honestly tries not to think about. He has no idea how it happened but somehow he's become the Lucas to her Haley, the Sam to her Clarissa. After a brutally honest conversation where they covered everything from what Allison did and didn't know was going on in her basement the night of the championship game to Stiles's own skewed moral compass, they found common ground. Stiles is bonded to a werewolf and blessed with Ability (which still doesn't make him the Willow of the group. If anything it just cements the fact that he's Giles) and Allison is destined to become a real life Ellen Harvelle but they make it work. He's raided her kitchen and she's slept in his bed. He knows her weaknesses and she knows his insecurities. They've talked about what it means to be a motherless child and nobody-not even Derek-understands quite like Allison what it takes out Stiles to watch his father put his gun in his holster and walk out of the door to work.

Allison has seen Stiles at his best and his worst. They've been on opposite sides and on the same team. Even before their newfound closeness he never really had a problem finding the words for whatever he wanted to say to her-even if those words were about how terrifying her mom was or how her dad's crazy eyes gave him nightmares. But _this_ , Stiles can't find a way to say. He can't find the words to tell her that _her_ boyfriend is in love with _him_. He justifies the silence by telling himself that it's not his secret to tell and even if Scott loves him it doesn't mean he's stopped loving Allison, but Stiles still feels like a _lying liar who lies_ whenever he listens to her angst over her relationship with Scott and wonder about what's going on with him lately.

Stiles knows that eventually something is going to happen to force a change and he's not at least at all surprised when that something turns out to be Allison.

Because honestly, if any of them were going to take the bull by the horns and confront the issue it was going to be Allison.

She's kind of fearless like that.

So Stiles is less surprised than he should be when he pulls up to Derek's and hears his least favorite werewolf-and that's saying something because he knows Jackson and Peter-talking about what Scott's pack should have _demanded_ from Derek, that Allison is there. She's wearing a serious look of contemplation on her face and there's a tiny voice in Stiles's head going "Danger, Danger Will Robinson" but he ignores it in favor of letting Dante know that the McCall pack can't demand jack squat from Derek and, to be frank they have neither a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of so he might want to pump his brakes and be quiet while the grownups are talking.

Not in those words exactly but he makes his point.

It isn't until he comes inside and he's stepping away from kissing Derek hello that he realizes what Allison was contemplating outside was _Scott_ how she's almost scarily focused on watching Scott watch him.

Stiles puts his misgivings to the side to focus on the meeting and things go about as well as can be expected. Erica needles Allison who refuses to engage her and Scott pokes at Derek until Derek is pushed past his breaking point. Stiles knows that Scott has taken it too far when he openly challenges Derek's abilities as an Alpha _in front of his pack_ and Derek's eyes go laser red and he starts getting up from his seat and _oh hell no not today_. Stiles did _not_ spend $23.99 on a deli tray for the first meeting of the Beacon Hills Werewolf Association to turn into an episode of The Jerry Springer show.

Stiles reaches out and twists his fingers into the cotton of Derek's shirt and _pulls_. He knows that he can't move Derek unless Derek wants to be moved but Stiles doesn't stop trying to pull him back down to the sofa. When Derek looks down to see what _moron_ is putting his hands on an angry Alpha and realizes the moron is Stiles…he lets himself be pulled down.

Stiles falls a little more in love with him right then but he can't really dwell on it because priority one is ripping Scott a new one.

"Really bro?" Stiles asks furiously, still hanging onto Derek. "That one," he spits pointing at Dante, "lost his shit last full moon when Greenberg cut in front of him in the lunch line. He almost let the supernatural cat out of the bag over _tater tots_ , Scott. And let's be real here; any of them," he says, motioning towards Erica, Boyd, Isaac and Peter, "could kick both your Beta's asses without breaking a sweat."

Stiles figures out halfway through that he's not holding on to Derek to keep Derek on the couch but he's holding on to Derek to keep from launching himself at Scott and beating him about the face and head with a "get smart" stick.

Or that ugly ass statue that Peter swears is an ancient moon goddess but Stiles is pretty sure he only put on the coffee table to annoy Derek.

Stiles is done. He's one thousand percent done with Scott treating Derek like it's Derek's fault that he and Stiles aren't together. Stiles is angry and frustrated and _tired_ and he has one mortifying moment where he fervently hopes he never made Lydia feel as objectified and disrespected as he feels right now and Stiles is ready to unleash the verbal beast when he feels Derek's hand snake it's way round the back of his neck and squeeze.

Stiles isn't a werewolf. He and Derek don't have physiological bonds-at least not on Stiles's end of things. His Derek senses don't start tingling if Derek is in trouble and he isn't hit with a desire to submit or defer to him whenever he does his werewolf mojo but he is connected to Derek in other ways, ways that run just as deep and are just as real and when he feels Derek's touch-firm and reassuring-he takes comfort in it, lets it ground him and swallows down the words he knows he would have regretted saying out loud.

When Stiles opens his mouth to speak again he's aware of Derek's fingers creating gentle points of pressure and he lets the touch keep him calm enough to talk to Scott without any anger. "I'm not saying you're a bad Alpha," Stiles tells his friend. "I'm just saying don't look a gift horse in the mouth. You're new at this whole thing and even with Allison's dad as a resource there's stuff you don't know. Stuff that only Derek or Peter could teach you. Plus, it would strengthen pack alliances. Two allied, united packs would be a deterrent to rogue hunters, rival packs and all the other beasties that go bump in the night. Only good can come from this, man."

Things have almost gotten back on track when Dante once again proves _why_ he's Stiles's least favorite werewolf by speaking and managing to piss off Peter.

Of all the werewolves in the room he offends the one who's part Voldemort.

Awesome.

Peter reminds everyone that he's the sassiest werewolf at the ball and Erica decides that if Scott's Betas can talk she can too and Derek has to remind his pack who wears the Alpha pants but ultimately no werewolves are harmed in making of the Hale-McCall Pack Alliance and Stiles and Scott are booked for some serious bro time so Stiles is going to put this one in the win column.

After the meeting Scott elects to help Stiles put away the refreshments and Stiles figures it's his way of apologizing so he's cool with it. Stiles feels Scott's fingers skin over a spot at the small of his back and he's in the middle of a little mental eye rolling because _again_ with the not so secret scenting but then he remembers Allison and the pensive, penetrating gaze she kept leveled at Scott all night and internally panics because he has the sinking feeling that she knows or at least suspects.

Stiles and Scott are putting things away and joking about adding to the McCallski Chronicles when Scott casually informs him that he got a 1950 on his SAT's and Stiles is beyond thrilled for him. Stiles knows how hard Scott worked for that score and he's so proud of him that he can't even bring himself to be embarrassed when he lets out a sound that would earn him a side eye from a dying whale and launches himself into Scott's arms.

"Dude, that is so awesome," Stiles announces clinging to Scott like he's part Spider Monkey. "I am so proud of you man! Did your mom freak? I bet she freaked? This gets cake. Shit this gets cake with _sprinkles._ Like a massive amount of sprinkles. An obscene amount-I'm talking a pornographic amount of sprinkles. And it'll be Tres Leches cause that's your favorite and you can have it all to yourself. Okay you can totally take that score and run with it but if you want to retest I've got Lydia and Danny on speed dial and we will have study sessions worthy of an 80's movie montage. I mean an Eye of the Tiger, Let's Hear for the Boy, Danger Zone I feel the need for speed style montage," Stiles says happily.

They stand there for a few moments, not long enough for it to be inappropriate or get awkward before Stiles notices the distinct lack of noise from the rest of the house. While he's mostly sure that everyone is okay because they didn't hear the sound of any furniture or bones breaking out in the living room he doesn't entirely put it past Peter to know how to take out an entire room of werewolves without making a sound.

There's a reason Peter is the sassiest werewolf at the ball, okay.

"We better get back out there," Stiles tells Scott. "It's disturbingly quiet. You don't think they're all sitting on their respective sides of the room glaring at each other do you?."

"It's entirely possible," Scott says, releasing Stiles. "After you."

Stiles laughs, jabbing his elbow into Scott's side "Dude, still? You always made me go first and make sure the coast was clear. You're a bad ass Alpha werewolf and you're still making me go first?"

"It's a tried and true system," Scott tells him glibly.

"Scaredy wolf," Stiles grouses as he leads the way out of the kitchen, laughing when he manages to trip Scott up on his way over the threshold.

As soon as they step into the space Derek and Allison stop talking and turn to look at them and Stiles takes one look at Derek's face and _knows._ Allison knows and Stiles is so letting the troop no. 451 down because _he is not prepared_. Stiles has felt too many emotions in too short a time and he's feeling stripped bare and rubbed raw and he just _cannot_ right now with that look of betrayal on Allison's face. "So um, where'd everybody go?" Stiles asks, trying to keep his voice light while simultaneously attempting to cement himself to Derek's side.

"I asked Peter to take Dante and Emily home and Isaac, Erica and Boyd decided to go out for a little air," Derek explains quietly.

Derek lets Stiles drape himself all over him and Stiles is infinitely grateful for whatever it is that lets Derek know what he needs and when he needs it because when he tips his head back for a kiss Derek is there, holding him tightly and kissing him deeply as if they're the only two people in the room.

Which well, they aren't and Stiles is reminded of that fact when they break apart and he gets an eyeful of Scott and Allison. Scott's face is so open and so _broken_ that it kills Stiles to know he's the one that put that look there and Allison is holding on to Scott with a white knuckle grip and her eyes are a little too bright and Stiles doesn't need to be a werewolf to sense their sadness.

Stiles knows this isn't his fault. He didn't sabotage Scott and Allison in any way and whatever Scott's feeling for him isn't because of any manipulation or seduction on Stiles's part. It's not his fault that he can't return Scott's feelings because the space in his heart labeled forever is so full of Derek that he can't even imagine trying to give it to someone else. Stiles didn't mean for any of this to happen. Knowing he has nothing to feel guilty about however doesn't stop Stiles from feeling guilty and it doesn't silence the little voice in his head that sounds an awful lot like Allison calling him a backstabbing boyfriend stealer.

Derek seems to know exactly what's going through Stiles's head because he holds him close, trails his fingers though his hair and tries to make it better. "Whatever you're thinking, you didn't do this," Derek murmurs into his ear. "It's okay. You're okay. We're okay and Scott and Allison will be okay."

The couples stand there for a few minutes before Scott and Allison finally leave and Derek and Stiles are alone. Stiles herds Derek over to the sofa and lies down, pulling Derek down over him, needing his weight and his strength to ground him. They lie there for a few moments before Derek breaks the silence with the words Stiles had been dreading.

"Allison knows."

The confirmation isn't unexpected but it still makes part of Stiles want to leap up from the sofa, run after Allison and beg for her forgiveness. Stiles swallows that part down and buries deeper into Derek and just breathes him in. "I kind of thought that might be the case when you had your 'somebody got their feelings all over me' face on," Stiles mumbles.

"Shut up."

Stiles pulls himself out of his Derek shaped hidey hole and makes eye contact with Derek. "No but really, I'm proud of you. And I'm grateful. I know that comforting Allison is probably on your top ten list of things to do never. I know that you have your issues-legitimately so-with Allison but I care about her and I never wanted to hurt her. At least not recently. There was a time when I wasn't exactly feeling the love but I could say the same about Erica and now…they're both like the sisters I never actually wanted and sometimes wish I didn't have but would be completely lost without." Stiles starts to feel the weight of everything bearing down on him, creating pressure, putting him on the edge of panic and he deliberately pushes it away and clings tighter to Derek.

"You're not the one that hurt her," Derek says, pressing a kiss into Stiles's tem

"But I'm the reason she's hurting," Stiles replies miserably.

"Scott's why she's hurting," Derek states. "And even he didn't do it on purpose."

Stiles knows that. He knows that Scott didn't mean to hurt Allison, the same way he didn't mean to hurt Scott but he's pretty sure that good intentions don't really amount to much once the damage starts getting done and they're all walking away from this one a little worse for wear.

"I know," Stiles agrees. "I just wish there was some way for all the people I love to make it of this thing happy."

Derek doesn't respond verbally but when he kisses him Stiles immediately yields to Derek's touch, seeking comfort and finding solace in the strength and security he always finds in Derek's embrace.

Back before he knew that Erica thought he wasn't entirely unfortunate looking, Scott was just his best friend and a guy like Derek was more of a fantasy than a reality, Stiles used to wonder what it would be like to be one of the Lydia Martin's of the world. He used to wonder what it would be like to have more than one person desperate for his attention and vying for his affections. Stiles had pretty sure it would be nothing short of awesome. Stiles had been an idiot. Because this? This isn't awesome. It's actually kind of horrible because no matter what he does people that he genuinely loves and respect are being hurt. Stiles isn't conflicted; there's no question where his heart lies but just because his heart belongs to Derek doesn't mean that it doesn't ache for Scott. Stiles has been where Scott is-not exactly but close enough-and he knows that his friend is hurting and he's legitimately remorseful that he's the reason for that pain. Stiles knows that there really isn't anything he can do for Scott except love him through it and be there for him, even if it's not in the way that Scott wants him to.

Stiles strengthens his hold on Derek and allows himself to be happy that among the ruins of broken promises and shattered dreams he's found his anchor. Derek is solid and real and the one thing that keeps Stiles tethered to the ground when his world goes spinning off of its axis. Derek is Stiles's and Stiles is Derek's and Stiles knows that even though that doesn't solve all their problems, it does give him something to hold on to, something that he has no intention of ever letting go.


End file.
